JAKARTA -- Philippine coach Yeng Guiao knows all about the so-called "curse of Korea". In fact, he was also a victim of it nine years ago.
"I know that [curse]," he said after the team's first practice since losing a heartbreaker to China on Tuesday. "We've been beaten many times before by Korea. They're our arch nemesis. We know their style, we know their options on offense. It's up to us to find a way to counter that. So far, I have some ideas. The coaching staff has been contributing ideas. The next few days we will be able to formulate a game plan and implement a game plan."
Guiao also recalls the time that the Koreans beat him in a very close game.
"(It was) 2009, we lost by two points on a last shot in Tianjin," he recalled. "I'm also a victim of Korea."
That game was a playoff for seventh place in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship in Tianjin, China, which the Koreans won 82-80. Also on that team were Asi Taulava, James Yap, and Gabe Norwood, who are all here in Jakarta as well.
But whatever bad memories they might have about the Koreans, the team must push to the back of their minds and concentrate on the only game that matters for them right now: their do-or-die Asian Games quarterfinal clash on Monday.
The Koreans have blown away the opposition so far in these Asian Games, winning all three of their Group A games by an average of 38 points.
Guiao acknowledged that Korea's naturalized player Ricardo Ratliffe will be a handful.
"He's a big factor. He's their main post option. If we cannot contain him we have a problem. And he's always been consistent. So we can't hope that he has a bad game. He doesn't have a bad game."
But Guiao said Korea is not just about Ratliffe. The former PBA import, now playing as a naturalized player for the reigning Asian Games champions, is not the only one delivering the goods for the Koreans.
Ratliffe was just one of Korea's many shooters that thumped Thailand 117-77 -- a win that allowed the team to complete a three-game sweep of their preliminaries.
Six players on the Korean team scored in double figures with the 6-foot-8 Ratliffe finishing with 21 points.
Although Ratliffe averages 23 points and 13 rebounds per game, Guiao said they have to put on a solid defensive scheme if they are to be successful.
"We just have to prepare hard," said Guiao noting the Koreans move so well and shoot from afar.
"Korea is getting balanced contributions," Guiao added.
Size, according to Guiao, won't be much of a problem.
"The best thing about Korea is they've been so patient running their plays. They rely on their ball movement and would wait for an opportunity to break down the defense and attack it," Guiao said.
In all the three games they played in the group stage matches, Korea didn't shoot below 40-percent from the rainbow territory. Its best shooting performance was against Thailand where they hit 47 percent from the 3-point zone (15-of-32).
One of Korea's snipers is Jeon Junbeom.
Turning 27 in a few days, Jeon has been playing great with his 3-point shooting, hitting 5-of-8 from beyond the arc against Thailand on his way to finishing with 20 points. He also had a solid showing against Mongolia where he knocked down 4-of-6 3s to end up with 16 markers.
Heo Ung, a promising 6-1 guard, is also a newcomer in the team, but showed a lot of potential following his decent shooting in the first three games. He averaged 12 points per game, including a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc against Thailand.
Heo Ilyoung and Lee Junghyun, two of the holdovers from the squad that won gold four years ago, are still solid contributors.
The 6-5 Heo had his best game against in his team's 108-73 beat down of Mongolia where he finished with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. He also had 11 markers in their debut win against host Indonesia. Overall, Heo averaged 13 points per game. Lee, a 6-foot-3 forward, averaged 11.6 points per game.
ESPN5's Sid Ventura contributed to this report.