The missed desperation triple by Paul Lee in the dying seconds of the Philippines' 82-80 loss to China on August 21 at the 2018 Asian Games was painful for more than one reason. The obvious consequence was the Philippines' failing to complete the comeback against the Asian powerhouse, especially when the team was ahead in the final two minutes.
But beyond that, the loss set the Philippines into the quarterfinals against a familiar and deadly foe: South Korea.
At this point, it's no secret that the Philippines has always had its hands full against South Korea when it comes to basketball. Witness the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, when Gilas Pilipinas was absolutely shellacked by South Korea 118-86, a gut punch that completely deflated the squad for the remainder of the tournament.
A year later, the Philippines gets its chance again to topple our Asian neighbors. Once again South Korea has looked dominant in this tournament against host Indonesia, Mongolia and Thailand. They've won all three games by a whopping average of 34.6 points, the biggest beatdown delivered versus the Thais, 117-77.
Korea's game plan has always revolved around disciplined ball movement in halfcourt sets highlighted by ball screens to free up their ridiculous array of shooters in the form of Jeon Junbeom, Jung Hyun Lee, Heo Ung among others. Korea has made 14 triples per contest at a scorching 43.7% from beyond the arc. Not giving up space to the Korean snipers is of primary concern to Coach Yeng Guiao and the rest of the Philippine squad.
"We just have to out-execute them," veteran center Asi Taulava noted. "With the Koreans, you can't make too many mistakes. We have to play smart, good, intelligent basketball and just go out there and try to out-execute them because that's what Koreans do - they wait for you to make mistakes and they capitalize on the mistakes."
Korea has also done a great job on defense, forcing their opponents to commit 17.3 turnovers per game. That has led to transition opportunities for their shooters. "Every time we make a mistake, they speed up the game or they try to get a quick three on you," Taulava said. "And that hurts when it adds up at the end."
It's not all about shooters anymore for South Korea, though. They've gotten a huge lift in the form of their newly naturalized center, Ricardo Ratliffe from the USA. Ratliffe is no stranger to Filipino basketball fans, as he has played two conferences in the PBA with the Purefoods and looked absolutely dominant. That has carried over to the Asian Games, as Ratliffe is averaging 23.3 points and 16.3 rebounds per contest.
"He's their primary option," Philppines' Coach Yeng Guiao after practice last Friday. "They give him a lot of touches and he's able to draw the double team or collapse the defense and that's all that they need for their shots to go in, that small shooting window."
Against a team as talented as South Korea, you really have to pick your poison. And now the Philippines is preparing for how to make things as uncomfortable as possible for their opponents.
"We'll have to make a decision whether we double team him or we just play him single coverage cause if you double team or if you collapse, the other Korean players are gonna get involved in the offense with the three-point shots," Guiao said. "So we're just debating that within the coaching staff, and tomorrow and Sunday, we will be able to practice our defensive schemes against them."
Ratliffe will be a headache for the Philippines, but South Korea will have a big problem on their hands, as they will have to contend with Jordan Clarkson for the first time. Clarkson had a sparkling debut against China, tallying 28 points on 5/13 three pointers to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. The team is banking on Clarkson dominating the matchup in the backcourt to offset Ratliffe's advantage in the paint.
"Just having JC itself is a big boost," Taulava said. "I feel there's nobody in Korea's side that can guard JC, just the same thing they create so much problems with us with Ratliffe. So it's gonna be very interesting, it's gonna be fun."
"I don't think they also have a matchup for Jordan," said Guiao. "So it depends on how we're able to capitalize on that. I know Jordan can score at will, anytime he wants to. But that's a really hard way of trying to win the game."
With more time to get familiar with his teammates and acclimated into the system, the team is envisioning Clarkson in more of an all-around playmaker and scorer role as compared to being a shoot-first gunner.
He must involve his teammates," Guiao noted. "He must get some help from the others and we have already incorporated that into the game plan, how he can force the defense to double team him pay special attention to him, which will free up the rest of the team.
"And also, if he has the opportunity to score, he'll know what to do," added Guiao. "He knows and he will understand and he will be able to read that situation."
The critical game is looming on Monday. The Philippines' road to basketball glory has never been paved with ease and comfort. They've had to go through trials and tribulations at every instance. It's no different against South Korea, who has had the Philippines' number as of late. But with a talented backcourt in Paul Lee and Stanley Pringle, rugged frontcourt defenders and the x-factor Jordan Clarkson, the Philippines is prepared to go all out to write a new chapter in their favor in this Asian rivalry.
"It's gonna be a challenge, but we're all capable, we're up to the task," Taulava said defiantly. "It's us or them that's gonna advance. So we just gotta come out there and compete. We're not intimidated, we're not afraid. This is a game of basketball. We're gonna go out there and do our best to win the game."
ESPN5's Lyn Olavario contributed to this story