Gilas battles nemesis Korea

JAKARTA – Will history repeat itself or revisit a distant past with a deadly cast?

It’s the revival of the time-tested regional rivalry between the Philippines and Korea with the Indonesian capital providing the link to the nation’s glorious past in the Asian Games.

The Nationals won the last of their four Asiad titles in the 1962 Jakarta Games through the leadership of basketball great Carlos Loyzaga and buoyed up by their tremendous stand that led to an 80-82 defeat to the Chinese Friday, the scrappy Filipinos appear fully armed with heart, desire and crisp The Nationals won the last of their four Asiad titles in the 1962 Jakarta Games through the leadership of basketball great Carlos Loyzaga and buoyed up by their tremendous stand that led to an 80-82 defeat to the Chinese Friday, the scrappy Filipinos appear fully armed with heart, desire and crisp offensives built around Fil-Am Jordan Clarkson.

For sure, the Koreans are favored with their murderous snipings from the quartercourt and the pesky presence of import Ricardo Ratliffe as they try to reassert their mastery over the Filipinos in recent past, the most horrific was the Busan thriller in 2012 that made Lee San Ming a by-word even in local cagedom.

That makes their showdown for a ticket to the medal round a compelling encounter in the 18th Asian Games men’s basketball tournament at the GBK Basketball Hall here today.

The Clarkson-led Philippine side and the Ratliffe-powered Korean squad clash at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. in Manila) in one of the Final Eight matchups where the winners advance to the medal round.

 It’s Iran versus Japan, Chinese Taipei against Syria and China opposite Indonesia in the other quarterfinal matchups.

With five extra days of practices after its close loss to China, the hastily assembled Phl team hopes it has covered all bases in what could well be another fierce battle with the Koreans.

Clarkson, the Fil-Am from Los Angeles now playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA, could well be the key as the Nationals try to break the Korean spell.

“We are expecting him to play even better than in the China game. We expect him to be more efficient. I’m not saying he will score more than 28 points but I think the more important thing is he is going to be more efficient, increase his percentages, and create situations for his teammates, which means probably more assists,” said national coach Yeng Guiao.

And if the Nationals can play the same the way they did against the Chinese, Guiao believes they can battle the Koreas for that spot in the Last Four.

They expect a dogfight against a tough Korean team made tougher by Ratliffe.

 The former Missouri U stalwart, a familiar player among Filipino fans for his sterling stints with Magnolia in the PBA, has been a monster at the paint, averaging 23.3 points and 13 rebounds a game while the South Korean gunners have been shooting the lights out here, hitting three-pointers at a high 47-percent clip.

 Alas, the national coach insists the Koreans are more than just Ratliffe and their outside shooting.

“They don’t have the length of China but they’re definitely quicker, they have more movements and they have better shooters,” said Guiao.

Team Phl has a good overview of Korea. The question is whether it has mapped out an effective game plan for the deadly Koreans.

 “Concept-wise, we understand what they’re doing. Still we want to stay in front of them and challenge them when they take a shot,” said Ryan Gregorio, a three-time PBA champion coach serving as the lead scout of Team Phl here.

 A win will send the Philippines to the semifinals against the winner of the Iran-Japan setto.

 Two wins will mean a crack at an Asiad achievement the Philippines had nailed long time ago at the Senayan Basketball Hall courtesy of Loyzaga, Boy Arazas, Kurt Bachmann, Ciso Bernardo, Gerry Cruz, Manny Jocson, Alfonso Marquez, Roehl Nadurata, Ed Pacheco, Cristobal Ramas, Alberto Reynoso and Ed Roque.