NO 'lucky shot' necessary this time.
Gilas Pilipinas beat Korea in its own game, catching fire from distance to put away an 82-77 victory on Sunday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym and head to the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup undefeated.
Dwight Ramos started the fire and kept burning all game long, going 5-of-9 from three-point distance to finish with 19 points alongside his five assists, three rebounds, and two steals as he set the tone for the host team.
His biggest play came with 15.8 seconds remaining when he split from the free-throw line then grabbed the rebound off his own miss, allowing him to ice the game for good at the charity stripe and show that the 81-78 victory last Wednesday was indeed no fluke.
The win allowed Gilas to complete a sweep of its three games inside the Clark bubble and top Group A of the qualifiers at 6-0. In the process, the Philippines kept its recent run of success at home against archrival Korea.
SJ Belangel, whose three-pointer at the buzzer clinched Gilas' 81-78 win over its arch-rivals in their first meeting on Wednesday, again played a prominent role in the endgame - one of many heroes that stepped up for the hosts.
This time, Belangel outsmarted the Koreans by drawing an unsportsmanlike foul from Lee Dae Sung that allowed the Philippines to create a bit of a cushion from its tight 79-77 lead with 25.5 seconds left, which led to a split from the line and another possession for the hosts.
The Filipino youngsters shot 14-of-37 from deep, giving Korea a dose of its own medicine from rainbow country, which allowed Gilas to hold a nine-point lead, 49-34, early in the third quarter and a six-point edge heading into the final 3:41.
Holding a slim 77-75 lead in the final minute, Gilas showed admirable poise under grinding pressure when William Navarro dived for the ball and found an open Justine Baltazar for the slam that made it a 79-75 lead with 31.7 seconds to play.
Ra Gun-A kept Korea within striking distance with an undergoal stab with 25.5 seconds left, but Belangel fished the foul from Lee in the ensuing inbounds play which spelled doom for the visitors.
Kai Sotto impresses in Gilas debut
Kai Sotto added 10 points and seven rebounds to complete his first game with the Gilas men's team. RJ Abarrientos chipped in 10 points, three boards, and two assists, and Jordan Heading shot 2-of-5 from deep for his 10 points.
Gilas also got significant boosts from Navarro, who finished with eight points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and a big block on Byeon Jun Hyeong, and Mike Nieto, who provided a jolt of energy in his 13 minutes of action to add to his three points, three boards, and two assists.
Naturalized center Ange Kouame did the dirty work with seven points and eight rebounds as Gilas completed the two-game sweep of Korea. The Philippine team now turns its attention to the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.
Ra paced Korea with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks as it finished the qualifiers with a 4-2 card.
Lee Hyun Jung got 13 points on his 3-of-9 shooting from distance, alongside four rebounds, as Yang Hong Seok had 12 points and three boards in the loss.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 82 - Ramos 19, Sotto 10, Heading 10, Abarrientos 10, Navarro 8, Kouame 7, Baltazar 6, Belangel 6, Nieto 3, Go 3, Chiu 0.
KOREA 77 - Ra 20, Lee HJ 13, Yang 12, Lee DS 9, Lee SH 8, Kim 8, Jeon 3, Byeon 2, Yeo 2, Ha 0.
Quarters: 18-20, 38-34, 56-54, 82-77.
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