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    Ratliffe looks ahead to duel with Kouame in Gilas-Korea games

    Ratliffe looks ahead to duel with Kouame in Gilas-Korea game
    Jun 15, 2021

    KOREAN naturalized player Ra Gun-A admits that he knows little of the youthful Gilas Pilipinas pool ahead of their clash in the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark.

    But if there's one guy he's looking forward to facing, it's definitely his Filipino counterpart Ange Kouame.

    "I played against him in the Jones Cup and I've been keeping eyes on him to see his development since that was 2018. So he's got a lot better. I'm looking forward to playing against him again," he said.

    Born Ricardo Ratliffe, Ra still remembers that 2018 Jones Cup clash between the Korean national team and the Philippines, then represented by Ateneo, where his side won, 90-73.

    Ra only played in the first half and did his damage with 16 points and seven rebounds to help the Koreans set the tone.

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      Kouame, however, left a big impression on Ratliffe after he poured 10 points, 16 boards, two blocks, and a steal in the losing cause.

      "It's been years," remarked Ra. "He's been putting in weight, he's been studying teams and studying our team, so I look forward to play against [Gilas] and see how much they improved since then."

      The ex-Star Hotshots reinforcement in the PBA acknowledges that times have changed for both national teams.

      At 32, he's now considered one of the elders in the Korean team as they bring in a youth-filled 12-man group with 20-year-olds Lee Hyun-jung and Yeo Jun-seok.

      "Now I'm the oldest guy in the team. I'm the co-captain to Lee Dae-sung, so I try to make sure I lead by example and by communicating with the guys cause we're really trying to really boost their confidence," he remarked.

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      "They're really young and talented, but they don't have as much confidence as some of the older guys. That's what we're trying to instill with those guys, to be confident cause that will make you a better player."

      Gilas, meanwhile, has brought in a young group that has Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos, under the guidance of coach Tab Baldwin .

      That alone makes the two duels between Gilas and Korea a must-see matchup in Ra's book.

      "We're two up-and-coming teams, two young teams, so I'm looking forward to be a part of it," he said.

      Gilas and Korea face off on Wednesday, before meeting anew on Sunday, both seeking to finish in the top two of Group A and earn an outright ticket to the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup in Indonesia in August.

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