What guards SJ Belangel and RJ Abarrientos lacked in size, they compensated with their grit and wits in their Gilas Pilipinas debut.

The two played pivotal roles as the Philippines ended its eight-year dry spell against South Korea with an enthralling 81-78 win in the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday, June 16.

Slotted in the starting unit, the 5-foot-10 Belangel churned out 13 points on top of 5 rebounds and hit the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer that clinched the country its Asia Cup slot.

Meanwhile, the 5-foot-11 Abarrientos put up 6 points and 3 assists as he served as a spark plug off the bench, helping the Filipinos storm back from a deficit as big as 17 points.

“They did really well. They’re making a case for small ball to still be alive,” said Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin.

While Baldwin bared that the team is grooming 6-foot-4 Dwight Ramos as their point guard of the future against taller teams, he said Belangel and Abarrientos both held their own against Korea.

“[W]hen you get to the big stage and against the big European teams, they’re gonna have big point guards,” Baldwin said.

“It is okay when you have a two- or three-inch deficit, but when that starts to be seven or eight or nine inches, that is pretty tough on your point guards.”

“But both of those guys, they really controlled aspects of the game, certain phases of the game with their ball screen play.”

Prior to his game-winner, Belangel hit several crucial buckets in the final quarter, including the layup that gave the Philippines a 76-75 lead with 48 seconds remaining.

Belangel scored 9 of his 13 points in the fourth period alone.

Abarrientos, meanwhile, delivered all of his 6 points in a five-minute stretch to end the second quarter as the Nationals headed to the break trailing by only single digits, 36-44.

“I thought RJ did a great job when we put them in there and SJ was tough throughout the game,” Baldwin said.

“That just goes to show you that, you know, small bodies but big hearts still have a place in the game of basketball. We owe both of them a lot, they made big plays today.” – Rappler.com