The Philippines and South Korea continued their storied basketball rivalry on Monday at the 40th William Jones Cup in Taiwan.
The two proud nations have obviously been familiar combatants through various international competitions and the Jones Cup was another chapter in their long list of battles. However, there was a slight difference during Monday's game.
For this edition of the annual Taiwan tournament, the Philippines was being represented not by Gilas Pilipinas, not by a PBA team, but a college team, the Ateneo Blue Eagles. They won their first game against Chinese Taipei-White but were humbled by Korea with a 17-point defeat. Naturalized Korean and former PBA import Ricardo Ratliffe didn't even need to enter the second half as the Chooks-to-Go powered Ateneo-Philippines suffered its first loss of the tournament.
Despite the loss, there are many learnings for the young Philippine team, particularly for the three Gilas Cadets on the roster - Isaac Go, Matt Nieto, and Thirdy Ravena. The three are part of the Gilas 23 on 2023 pool and will be the cornerstones of the Gilas program moving forward. Their continued growth and development will be instrumental not just for their Ateneo squad, but for the national team as well.
"It was a tough game. They were big, athletic, smart and very good shooters," assessed Isaac Go. "I think the biggest learning form this game is that we know we can compete, but there are just things we have to work on to help us close that gap."
"We were glad to have faced them since we really learned what we have to improve more," point guard Matt Nieto shared. "Like our execution on offense and so much more. As you can see South Korea's offense was flawless, they knew what their strength is and that is the lesson that I really picked up."
If the Blue Eagles exhibited pinpoint passing and execution against Chinese Taipei, they were given a dose of their own medicine by the Koreans. With a glaring 30-12 advantage in the assists department, Korea's offense seemed spotless as observed by Nieto. As a team, Korea shot 66.7 percent from two-point range and 10-of-18 from beyond the arc.
"Coming into the tournament I thought that our biggest advantage is that we are a disciplined team but turns out Korea is more disciplined," quipped Thirdy Ravena. "You saw in the game they were waiting for us to make a mistake or for us to be late in a defensive rotation before they attack. They're really patient."
The Blue Eagles were able to keep within striking distance for most of the game as their defense was severely tested by the free-flowing offense of Korea. However, even the minor inconsistencies on the defensive end were exploited by the opposing team.
The learnings of the entire Ateneo team, particularly for the three Gilas Cadets will come in handy for the future. The Korean team has an average age of 26, which most likely mean that Go, Nieto, and Ravena will face them again in other tournaments.
"I'm very motivated to face them again knowing that I already battled with them," Nieto said. "Somehow I already know how they play and I want to get back at them. In five years' time, hopefully I improve together with the Gilas Cadets so that eventually we can beat South Korea."
As young as they are, the Ateneo Blue Eagles made a gallant stand against the Korean national team. And by the looks of it, a few of the Blue Eagles will have the opportunity to face them again in bigger and grander stages. For now, they will have this experience in the Jones Cup to lean on.
"We're motivated to continue to work hard because we know that we can be better players," Go said.
"I'm motivated more than ever because I saw that our country can compete internationally at a high level," echoed Ravena. "All we need is practice and discipline."