Moon eclipses mighty Alapag in duel for ages

INCHEON, South Korea – Mighty Jimmy tried to save the day for Gilas but in the end Korea's full Moon sank them deeper in the dark.

Jimmy Alapag, 36, and Taejong Moon, 38, went toe to toe in a memorable personal duel, carrying their teams on the back.

Moon refused to be eclipsed as he shone brightest at crunch time while Alapag was reduced to tears at the buzzer.

The 6-foot-7 Moon, who played as an import in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) before he was naturalized, shot the lights out with six triples en route to a game-high 38 points.  His personal 8-0 run deep in the fourth gave Korea the lead, 84-82, after being downed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter.

Alapag answered every Moon's basket and tied the game at 88-all until he was taken out due to cramps. By the time the Gilas skipper returned to the floor, the Koreans have already seized the momentum and the advantage.

Alapag missed a 3-pointer off a timeout while Yang Heejong nailed the dagger trey on the other end.

Moon iced it with two free throws sending Alapag and Gilas on the brink of elimination.

Alapag, the 5-foot-10 captain of Phl team playing in his last tournament, carried the fight for the embattled Filipinos with 25 points, spiked by five triples.

"That's the big difference physically between a 5'10 guy and a 6'7. It takes double effort for him to get his shot up. In the end, he cramped up," Gilas coach Chot Reyes said.

Korea's coach Yoo Jaehak paid tribute to Moon's hot shooting that brought them back in the game.

"Even though, we had a big disadvantage in the third quarter, we tried man to man D to give us a chance. Then Moon had good shooting," Yoo said.

Alapag and Gilas were scorching hot from the outside in the first half, sinking 11 of their 16 triples to take a seven point lead, 51-44.

Moon and the Koreans took their turn in the second half to finish with 14 triples.

"Philippines has great shooting skills. The first half spirit was high. But our team brought up our spirits in the second half," Yoo said.

The win pushed Korea to the semifinals while Gilas prays for a miracle to advance via backdoor.

"We need prayers. I think we're out of it unless Kazakhstan beats Qatar tonight," Reyes said.

With Kazakhstan beating Qatar 65-57 the same day, Gilas stays alive and hopes for a Korea win Sunday coupled with a big win over Kazakhstan. Otherwise, Alapag's international career will fade in the sunset as full Moon took over and shone bright in this fateful Saturday night.