(Eagle News) – The Philippines’ basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, bowed out of the medal race Monday, August 27, after a reeling loss to South Korea, with a score of 91-82.
The Philippine team, with Jordan Clarkson leading the points for the Philippines at 25 points, tried to keep up with South Korea in the first three quarters and even led by as much as six points halftime. At the end of the third quarter, the Philippines even had the lead, 65-64.
But South Korea started shooting triples one after the other in the fourth quarter, making for a 13-4 run that put them in the lead for good.
It was in 1970 that the Philippines won over Korea.
Former Philippine Basketball Association import Ricardo Ratcliffe played for South Korea on Monday and put in 30 points and 14 rebounds.
Ratcliffe, the American-born center who became a naturalized South Korean, became the defining factor for the South Korean team with his knowledge of the Philippine basketball players. He played for two conferences in the PBA for Purefoods, and also knew Clarkson whom he was teammates with in college.
With the win by South Korea, it advanced its efforts to snatch a medal against whoever will win in the quarterfinals between Iran and Japan.
The Philippines, on the other hand, can no longer get a medal as it dropped to the classification round where it can go as far as fifth place.
The Philippine basketball team finished at seventh place in the last Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea in 2014. (Eagle News Service)
