By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Gilas Pilipinas men’s basketball team made sure they wouldn’t have to rely on a miracle shot to vanquish the mighty Korean squad.
For the second time in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, the young cadets of Gilas found a way to outlast Korea, 82-77, and swept them in Group A of the tournament.
Both teams started hot with Gilas trading baskets with the SoKor gunners to keep the ball game tight.
Ricardo Ratliffe continued his dominance in the interior that drew three early fouls for the PH’s newly naturalized Ange Kouame.
However, the smooth and steady operator Dwight Ramos started a PH run after draining threes from his favorite elbow spot.
The savvy forward from Ateneo finished the duel with 19 huge points with five assists. Another revelation for Gilas was William Navarro’s defensive prowess that gave them several stops in the crucial third quarter.
Jordan Heading also came up big and drained shots from the three-point line, joining Ramos in the trey party with 10 points off the bench.
In an intense fourth quarter with Korea just down by two points, 77-75, a scrappy Navarro was able to handle the ball and dished out a spectacular assist to Justine Baltazar to help extend the Gilas lead to four off an easy dunk, 79-75.
Ratliffe answered by scoring two more points but Gilas’ composure and cleverness helped them draw fouls with Ramos icing the game with his free throws.
