SOUTH Korea came back from seven points down in the final four minutes and beat the Philippines, 93-85, to enter the semifinal round of the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) Asia Under-18 Championship on Friday in Tehran, Iran.
Batang Gilas failed to capitalize on its 80-73 advantage with 4:10 remaining as the South Koreans unleashed a 20-5 windup to deliver the heartbreaker for the Filipinos.
Big man Ha Yungi and sharp shooter Park Min-uk joined hands in leading South Korea’s comeback in the fourth period as the Filipinos threatened to pull off an upset.
With the game tied at 73-all, the Mike Oliver-coached Batang Gilas unloaded a 7-0 run capped by JV Gallego’s uncontested lay-up to take a seven-point cushion.
Back-to-back three-point plays by Ha and a three-pointer by Park ignited an 11-0 swing by South Korea to take an 84-80 lead with 1:47 remaining.
Kemark Carino ended the Philippines’s drought with a banked shot, 82-84, but South Korea added three more points for an 87-82 lead with 56 seconds left.
Again, Carino put the Batang Gilas back with a triple, 85-87, but South Korea’s Lee Jung-hyun hit a jumper and Park Jiwon added two free throws to put the game out of reach, 91-85, 12 seconds remaining.
It was a tough loss for Batang Gilas, which started the game with a 25-14 advantage but lost steam in the end.
Team captain Jolo Mendoza led the Philippines with 19 points, while Carino flirted with a triple-double game of 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks. Gallego and Jonas Tibayan each had 13 markers for Batang Gilas, which also drew eight points and seven steals from guard Fran Yu.
With the loss, the Philippines was relegated to the classification phase and will play the loser of China-Iran quarterfinal match.
Han Seunghui led South Korea with 24 points, while Ha added 20 markers and eight boards.