INQUIRER Sports

TIANJIN, CHINA? Somehow it seems, South Korea doesn't run out of wicked moves to give the Philippines heartaches.

Tiny guard Yang Dong-geun sliced through a Filipino triple team and under the armpit of Kerby Raymundo for the game-winning layup as the Koreans escaped with a high-wire 82-80 decision Sunday that relegated Powerade-Pilipinas to an eighth-place finish at the Fiba Asia qualifier here.

The Filipinos blew a nine-point lead in the final 6:33 and failed to break an 80-all tie with three attempts before missing the chance to foul the fast-breaking Yang and stop the clock at the Tianjin Gym here.

It was the third straight defeat for the Philippines, which fought hard despite the absence of top point guard Willie Miller who had a groin pull.

The Filipinos ended their campaign with a 4-5 card, counting their two losses to the Koreans.

And this one brought back painful memories of 2002, when Olsen Racela missed a pair of free throws with three seconds left in the Filipinos? semifinal match with the Koreans at the Busan Asian Games.

Lee Sang-min then made a three-pointer on the other end as the Koreans prevented the Filipinos from forging a gold-medal clash with mighty China.

James Yap had the same opportunity on Sunday. He got the ball from Jayjay Helterbrand in the inbound play but narrowly missed the potential game-winning triple off the glass at the buzzer.

The Nationals may have missed their target of landing at least in third place by a mile, but seventh spot would have been sweet, especially if they had pounded out a win against the Koreans.

Three close-range attempts by Jared Dillinger, Kerby Raymundo and then Sonny Thoss failed to hit their marks in previous plays.

Kim Joo-soong snared the rebound and then fed the streaking Yang. The Filipinos could have stopped play with a foul on Yang but totally forgot about the ploy.

Although the game staked only seventh place, its intensity was evident as Raymundo and Lee Jung-suk almost came to blows with 8:51 left in the third period after an undergoal skirmish.

Dillinger completed a three-point play after that sequence as the Philippines surged ahead, 49-42.

But the Koreans wiped away that deficit just as quickly and tied the count at 62-62 at the end of the third period.

The Philippines? last memorable win against South Korea was in the 1986 Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, where the Filipinos scored a 76-72 win over a Hur Jae-led squad in the gold medal match.

South Korea was releaged to the battle for seventh after losing to Chinese-Taipei, 65-70, Saturday night. The Koreans were shown the door in the knockout quarterfinals by Lebanon, 68-65, Friday last week.

Power forward Oh Sei-keun topscored for the Koreans with 31 points on top of 10 rebounds before limping out of the game with 18 seconds left after getting a wayward Yap foot in the groin.

His final bucket came with 35 seconds remaining when he put back a Kim miss for that 80-all standoff.

The Koreans also beat the Filipinos in the first round of eliminations here, 69-56. It came less than two weeks after they mastered the Filipinos in the William Jones Cup tournament in Taipei, 83-80.

Thoss scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half, but missed an off-balanced short stab?the last of those three Philippine attempts?that could have applied pressure on the Koreans.

Cyrus Baguio, the most consistent offensive performer in the tournament for coach Yeng Guiao, led all Filipino shooters with 17, including two free throws with 1:51 left that put the Filipinos in the lead for the last time at 80-78.

The scores:
KOREA 82?Oh 31, Kim 15, Kang 10, Lee 9, Yang H. 9, Yang D. 6, Lee D. 2, Bang 0, Joo 0, Ha 0.

POWERADE-PILIPINAS 80?Baguio 17, Thoss 15, Raymundo 14, Dillinger 9, Taulava 9, Santos 6, Norwood 5, Yap 3, Helterbrand 2, Pennisi 0, Aguilar 0.
Quarters: 26-19, 42-43, 62-all, 82-80