Preview: Gilas Pilipinas vs Korea

Game time: 8:30pm 

Recent History:

2012 Jones Cup: Gilas beat Korea, 82-79

2011 FIBA Asia Tournament: Korea beat Gilas, 70-68

2011 Jones Cup: Korea beat Gilas, 78-70

2009 FIBA Asia Tournament: Korea beat Gilas twice — 69-56 (preliminary round), and 82-80 (battle for 7th)

 

What Gilas should look out for:

1. Guard play

Remember the following names because you’re bound to hear Rolly Manlapaz mention their names often later — Yang Dong-Geun, Kim Min-Goo, Kim Sun-Hyung, Kim Tae-Sul, and Cho Sung-Min.

Needless to say, Mr. Manlapaz can be forgiven if he gets his tongue tied tonight. But kidding aside, these are the big threats who can thwart what has otherwise been excellent play from our own backcourt. Perhaps Korea is the only team who can match or even surpass the quickness of Gilas’s guards, and, obviously, if our speed advantage is negated, it will be a long night.

2. Scrambling D

Korea, not Iran, has displayed the best defense so far, at least from my perspective. These guys disrupt the passing lanes relentlessly and persistently close out on opposing shooters. I imagine guys like Jeff Chan, Gary David, Larry Fonacier, and LA Tenorio will find it tough to look for any open spots tonight. The Koreans, watch for it, tend to not really fight through screens but just go around them, and their quickness just enables them to cover their assignments really well.

3. Inside Play

Our long-held image of Korea is that it is a team of pure shooters, but one look at the stats reveals that there are actually just 2 guys who make at least 1 triple per game here — Cho Sung-Min (1.7 per game) and Kim Min-Goo (2.1 per game).

The real, yet under-appreciated, strength of this team is its interior game. The quartet of Kim Joo-Sung, Kim Jong-Kyu, Lee Seung-Jun, and Lee Jong-Hyun is probably the most solid frontline combo outside of Iran’s giants. That foursome norms about 29 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks per outing.  There’s no big superstar like Marcus Douthit, but there’s no dip in quality between starters and relievers as well.

 

We can exploit:

1. Physicality

Korea has tall and lengthy frontliners, but their weakness has always been sheer physicality. This helped do them in against the Iranians early in the tournament. They managed to endure the physicality of Qatar in the QFs, but they have never faced Marc Pingris yet. If Ping and Co. can outmuscle Korea’s bigs, then the edge in rebounding should swing our way.

2. Our athleticism

Another aspect that should work in Gilas’s favor is our athleticism. I remember a game in the 2007 Jones Cup where Gabe Norwood slammed one home in the endgame that iced a win for SMC Team Pilipinas, and I am having visions of Japeth Aguilar having another slam party tonight. Outside of Lee Seung-Jun, nobody on the Korean side is as athletic as Gabe and Japeth, and we would do well to exploit that advantage.

3. The boisterous crowd

Though there are a lot (and I mean A LOT) of Koreans in Manila for various reasons (business and education are the most popular ones), I doubt if they will make a significant dent in the 16,000++ who will wear white and cheer on the Gilas boys tonight. I believe the crowd will inject much-needed energy into coach Chot’s wards anew, and that this will help their best game shine through.

The Fates have long been sour to us when it comes to games against Korea, but this time it seems they have gifted us with a splendid chance to collect on Korea’s payables. It’s payback time.

Odds: 50-50 split straight down the middle. – Rappler.com