KOREA has become the likely quarterfinal opponent of Gilas Pilipinas after the former's sweep of their group stage matches at the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball.
Korea defeated host Japan, 100-83, on Sunday to close Group A with a 3-0 win-loss record heading into the quarterfinals.
ASIAD SCENARIOS: Gilas can't afford to lose by this much to China
The win assured Korea of making it to the top two seeds of the quarterfinals, the rankings of which will be based on win-loss records as well as the point differential during the group stage.
Being in the top two also puts Korea in a collision course with the Philippines in the quarterfinals.
According to the tournament format, the top two seeds will be facing the two best third-placed teams at the end of the quarterfinals.
Gilas Pilipinas is currently the best third-placed team with a 1-1 win-loss record and a +27 point differential heading into a game against China on Monday to close the competition in Group C.
China can actually join Korea in the top two with a win over the Philippines to become two of the remaining unbeaten teams in the group stage that would face the No. 7 and No. 8 ranked teams in the quarterfinals.
But the tournament format also states that teams from the same group can’t play one another in the quarterfinals. That means that the Philippines will be left facing Korea in the quarterfinals because Gilas is in the same group as China, and thus will not be playing agianst each other in the final eight.
How to avoid Korea
Prior to the Asiad, Korea already showed its might against the Philippines during the Hana Bank Invitational where they played two tune-up games. Korea swept Gilas by an average of 26.5 points during the series.
But Gilas can actually avoid Korea, at least early in the quarterfinals, if it defeats China on Monday.
If it wins over China, Gilas will likely avoid third place in Group C. It can even go as first place in the group and even go at No. 2 seed in the quarterfinals, depending on the winning margin against China.
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