Belangel Buzzer Beating Triple Ends PH's Losing Streak Vs South Korea
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 17 Jun 2021
Belangel (C) sinks the game winner vs Korea.
Atenean S J Belangel banked in a three point shot as time expired lifting the rookie laden Gilas Pilipinas team to a thrilling 81-78 victory over a scrappy South Korean squad in the first of their scheduled two game meeting in the continuing FIBA Asia Cup at the Clark Bubble.
The win ended the Philippines eight year losing streak to South Korea that started almost after the Filipinos last success against the South Koreans in the 2013 FiBA Asia in Manila which qualified the country in the following year's World Basketball Championship.
That 2013 victory on the other hand came eleven years after two missed free throws by Olsen Racela and a buzzer beating triple by Lee Sang Min resulted to a one point win by South Korea over an all-pro Philippine squad in the semis of the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
The Philippines failed in arranging a showdown with Yao Ming and China for the gold medal when Min scored a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the South Koreans a one point dramatic victory 69-68.
Before that, the national cagers were seconds away from eliminating the hosts after Racela drained a three with less than a minute left to make it 68-66.
Racela was later fouled after South Korea failed to convert on the previous possession. But the then San Miguel Beerman, a career 84-percent free throw shooter, muffed both tries that opened the door for Lee to come through in the clutch.
The Busan nightmare was among the string of losses the Philippines endured against South Korea, a term later coined as the “Curse of South Korea.”
It would take another 11 years before the Philippines ended the dry spell, turning the tables on the South Koreans with an 86-79 win in the semifinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship on home soil.
But South Korea had since resumed its dominance over the Filipino cagers, winning the next five meetings namely the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, 2015 and 2017 William Jones Cup, 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and 2018 Indonesia Asian Games.
In the latest revenge against South Korea, credit should be given to the Gilas coaching staff headed by Tab Baldwin who saw to the formation of a stronger team with the addition of Kai Sotto and Angie Kouame who more than held their own against the equally tall Sokor frontline anchored by naturalized former PBA import Ricardo Ratliffe known as Ra Gun Ah.
Ratliffe indeed led the South Korean offense with 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Sotto and Kouame delivered solidly, particularly Kouame who even scored on a couple of triple of his own during Gilas spirited rally and run for the lead. Sotto finished with 11 points on top of 7 rebounds off the bench despite the physical game of the Koreans.
But it was the Gilas smaller guys, especially Belangel and RJ Abbarientos with 6-7 Cebuano find, Carl Tamayo and returnee Dwight Ramos who provided the spark as they time and again challenged the Korean zone with daring penetrations and outside sniping. Ramos topped Gilas scoring with 16.
Displaying their vaunted touch from the long range, the South Koreans actually led most of the way, posting a lead as many as 17 up to the early part of the third quarter.
But with Sotto and Kouame providing steadiness on both ends, the Filipinos slowly but surely nibbled at the South Korean lead, eventually wresting the initiative following a Kouame triple from above the keyhole, 71-69.
From there, it became a nip and tuck affair with the two teams trading baskets.
The score was even 78-all with time down to three sticks when Belangel got the sideline throw in from a screen, pump faked a South Korean defender off position then heaved a long shot that hit the square box and banked into the basket as time expired. In effect, Belangel did a reverse Lee Sang Min heroics against South Korea.
Had the Gilas coaching staff made do with the team that saw action in earlier Manama, Bahrain FIBA Asia qualifier that had only Kobe Paras and Isaac Go as main bigs, the team would have been at grave disadvantage size wise against the South Koreans at Clark.
The two teams were supposed to originally meet in that Manama tournament but the Koreans opted to forgo the rest of the competition out of health concerns with the ongoing pandemic. That Gilas team struggled initially but won their series against a tall Thai team.
Incidentally, Sotto, Kouame, Tamayo, Abbarientos and Belangel, the heroes of the game were all first timers in the national team which brought back Go, Justine Baltazar, Wiiliam Navarro, Mike Nieto, Javi Gomez de Leano, Dwight Ramos and Jaydee Tungcab from the earlier Manama stint.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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