Guiao, nationals vow to break Korean spell

MANILA, Philippines — And for coach Yeng Guiao and a number of battle scarred Nationals, it’s time to still the ghosts of Asiad past – from the Tianjin heartbreak to Lee Sang Min in a showdown with the South Koreans Monday.

There are old scores to settle with Guiao also smarting from a painful loss to the Koreans in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship in Tianjin, China.

And so do the returning National players – from Asi Taulava to Gabe Norwood to James Yap to Chris Tiu and to Christian Standhardinger – nursing the memory of bitter defeat as the Koreans have never got tired breaking the hearts of the Filipinos in many a battle from the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul.

Their rivalry dates all the way back to the early years of Asian basketball, but the Philippines, sadly, has always been on the wrong end of things in the last three decades – save for a few games including Gilas Pilipinas’ conquest of Korea in Manila in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

Guiao and his troops hope to break the spell in a bid to stay in the 2018 Asian Games medal hunt as the Philippines and Korea clash in a quarterfinals knockout duel.

Even with Jordan Clarkson, Guiao admits they have their job cut out for them against the Koreans.

Guiao was a victim of the Korean curse in 2009 when they couldn’t close out what had looked a won ball game against the Koreans in a fight for seventh place in the Tianjin Asian meet.

In a bizarre last 11 seconds of the match, the Filipinos missed no less than three field goal attempts to win the game, then Korean guard Yang Donggeun grabbed the rebound and beat the buzzer with a court-to-court drive to steal the game for the Koreans at 82-80.

Nine years later, the bitter memory of the loss still lingers in Guiao’s mind.

Taulava, Norwood and Yap won’t forget that either as they’re part of that team.

“Masakit yon,” said Guiao.

It was a virtual repeat of the Korea-Phl game in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

The Nationals were then a few heartbeats away from the victory but Olsen Racela muffed two free throws then the Koreans stole the game on a three-pointer by Lee Sang Min just before the final buzzer sounded.

In 2011 in the FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, the Koreans would inflict the Filipinos yet another loss, 70-68, in a bronze-medal game.

Smart Gilas then led by as many as 11 but Moon Tae-jung and Cho Sung-min powered the Koreans to a come-from-behind win.

The Filipinos had a chance to send the game into overtime but JVee Casio rushed to the frontcourt in the final six seconds, firing a desperation heave that never hit the mark.