Gilas tries to purge ‘Ghost of Busan’

Games today

Group 1

Samsan World Gymnasium

2 p.m. – Korea vs Philippines

6:30 p.m. – Qatar vs Kazakhstan

Group 2

Hwaseong basketball gym

2 p.m. – Mongolia vs Iran

6:30 p.m. – Japan vs China

INCHEON, South Korea – Gilas Pilipinas gets the chance to exact revenge on South Korea on home soil and silence the ghost of Busan in 2002 as they clash today in the second game of the quarterfinals in Group 2 of the Asian Games basketball competitions at the Samsan World Gymnasium.

The Filipinos beat the South Koreans in the last FIBA Asia Championship at home at the MOA Arena to earn a ticket to the World Cup, the victory sparking a wild celebration for the resurgence of Philippine basketball but a win in Incheon will be doubly significant for it will forever exorcise the ghost of Busan where they lost by one on a three-pointer by Lee Sang Min.

The Koreans, who reached the quarterfinals as Group B top finisher, are expected to be firing on all cylinders with almost all their men contributing to the scoring chores. They will be led by Moon Taejong who had 15.5 points per game and has been shooting 11-1 from two-point territory, and 8 of 14 from the arc for 57 percent.

Also the players to watch out are Oh Sekeum (60 percent from two-point territory for 14.5 ppt), Cho Sungmin (50 percent shooting from two-point area and 67 percent from treys for 13 ppg and Kim Sunhung 50 percent accurate from three-point territory with 12.0 ppg.

The Filipinos have an average height of 6-6 compared to Korea’s 6-4, but coach Chot Reyes said his boys need to match up with the Koreans on the offensive end.

The depth of Korea’s roster is seen from the 58 points that they get off the bench. Their quickness gives them 22.5 points per game from turnovers and 16 ppt from fast breaks.

“Korea is a dangerous team on home turf since they will have a sixth man, their crowd,” said Reyes, hinting that the Korea-based Filipino fans may not be able to get seats in the 5,000-seater Samsan World Gymnasium as the Korean hosts have reportedly cornered all the tickets for the game.

Team manager Aboy Castro said each playing team is allocated 100 tickets, but whether these will be made available will be known today.

The Filipinos came in droves, occupying over 90 percent of the seats in the Philippines losing 83-86 game to Iran at the close of eliminations.

The Filipinos were playing the Qataris last night in a game they had to win to ensure at least a tie for second in the four-team group. 

They will play Kazakhstan Sunday at 3:15 p.m. at the Hwangseong gymnasium at the close of the quarters.

At least two wins will assure Smart Gilas a place in the semis while one win could result in a three-way tie for second to be resolved by the quotient system or a two-way tie for third which will take both third placers out of the quarters.

Playing in Group 1 are China (Group A No. 1)  Mongolia (Group B No. 2), Iran (Group C No. 1) and Japan (Group D No. 2).

In Group 2, Kazakhstan comes in as Group A No. 2, Korea Group B No. 1, Philippines Group C No. 2 and Qatar Group D No. 1.

If they play true to form, the four teams seeded in the second round – China, Iran, Korea and the Philippines – would be the same squads in the semifinals since the four unseeded teams that made this far have already gone through five straight games of competition and should be burnt out from the daily grind.

Of the eight unseeded teams, only Kazakhstan and Mongolia advanced to the quarterfinal, dislodging Chinese Taipei and Jordan.