Not over for Gilas

If it’s any consolation, Gilas’ 118-86 loss to South Korea at the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon the other night wasn’t the worst trouncing the Philippines has ever absorbed in 24 head-to-head meetings since the tournament was inaugurated in 1960.

The worst shellacking was when the Koreans crushed the Philippines, 121-74, in 1975 when the national team was left without the country’s best players who moved to the newly formed PBA. At that time, pros weren’t allowed to play in FIBA-sanctioned competitions. That was a 47-point blowout. Another thrashing came in 1999 when South Korea blasted the Philippines, 98-63. In contrast, the Philippines’ biggest win over South Korea was in a 97-79 decision in 1960.

The last Philippine victory in the FIBA Asia Cup (then known as the Asian Basketball Confederation Championships) was in Kuala Lumpur in 1985. Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic were named to the mythical first team of the tournament. The Philippines beat South Korea, 76-72 and China, 82-72, on the way to the gold. South Korea’s top gunners were Lee Chung Hee and Hur Jae. Curiously, Hur Jae is now the South Korean coach and his son Ung Heo was on the team that bombed Gilas the other night.

Over the years, South Korea has dealt the Philippines several basketball heartaches. At the 1986 Asian Games, Hur Jae led the Koreans to a 103-102 win in the semifinals. Caidic scored in the dying seconds but the shot was nullified as he was called for an offensive foul on who else, Hur Jae. At the 2002 Asian Games, Lee Sangmin hit a buzzer-beating triple to lift South Korea to a 69-68 squeaker, also in the semifinals. At the 2011 FIBA Asia Cup, the Koreans again nipped the Philippines, 70-68 and at the 2014 Asian Games, it was another down-to-the-wire finish with South Korean winding up on top, 92-90.

Losing by a point or two is probably more painful than getting blown out by a mile. But nothing is more embarrassing than being massacred in the Philippines’ favorite sport. That’s exactly what happened in Lebanon. South Korea could do no wrong in bursting Gilas’ bubble. The Philippines barged into the knockout quarters with a high level of confidence buoyed by a sweep of Group B. Gilas opened with a 96-87 upset over China then thumped Iraq, 84-68 and dumped Qatar, 80-74.

What the Philippines was supposed to do to South Korea, the Koreans did to Gilas. South Korea outran, outshot the Philippines from three-point distance and outworked the Gilas in every department to win easily. The Philippines led in only 1:22 minutes of the entire 40-minute stretch. For some unexplained reason, Gilas played out of synch on both ends. The intensity in defense was absent. The fire was missing. There were times when the players appeared to be blaming each other. Terrence Romeo was a bright spot, erupting for 22 points in the second period as he singlehandedly tried to hold off the rampaging Koreans. But in the third quarter, South Korea put the cuffs on Romeo and detonated a 29-13 bomb that settled the issue for good.

South Korea had more assists, 34-14 and that led to an amazing 66.7 percent shooting from the field. The Koreans also collected more fastbreak points, 17-7, three-point conversions, 16-11 and free throw connections, 14-7. The Gilas magic that turned South Korea into stone in the 2013 FIBA Asia Cup semifinals was gone. It seemed like the Philippines took the night off, so uncharacteristic of Gilas. Maybe, exhaustion caught up with the team despite the previous two-day rest. Maybe, Andray Blatche could’ve tilted the balance with his size and shooting ability. Whatever the cause of the meltdown, it was a loss that will long linger as a nightmare for Filipino fans. But it shouldn’t be a signal to jump ship. Now more than ever, Gilas must regroup, refocus and rally behind coach Chot Reyes who’s brought renewed life in the Philippines’ quest for a slot in the next World Cup and Olympics. 

 No less than SBP chairman emeritus and Gilas’ chief benefactor Manny V. Pangilinan expressed surprise at the lopsided outcome. “It certainly was a different Gilas out there,” he said. “It wasn’t the same team that played China convincingly. Korea is a disciplined, well-oiled machine and the best way to disrupt that is to unsettle it, startle them. Instead, it was us who froze in their headlights. And did not recover because there was no leadership out there.”

The Philippines finished second in the last two FIBA Asia Cups so the Lebanon fall will be several steps down. Gilas still has a chance to salvage fifth place but it will mean beating host Lebanon tomorrow and the winner of the playoff between the Jordan-New Zealand and China-Australia quarterfinal losers. If Gilas beats Lebanon, it’s likely the fifth place game will be against China in a rematch on Sunday.