South Korea breaks Pinoys’ hearts anew, downs Smart Gilas in bronze medal match

South Korea once again broke the hearts of the Philippine National hoop team  as it rallied past the Smart-Gilas Pilipinas, 70-68, to win the bronze medal in the FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China yesterday.

The Philippines were in control for most of the match before naturalized forward Taejung Moon, who missed his first five three-point attempts, hit a three-pointer with 47 seconds left to give South Korea a 67-65 lead. The Koreans outsteadied the Filipinos from the free throw line to keep the Filipinos out of a podium finish..

Even worse, the loss denied the Nationals a slot in the qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics, which would have been their last shot at achieving the dream that the squad was mainly made for.

The result was reminiscent of the Philippine team’s collapse in the semifinal round of the Busan Asian Games in 2002 held in South Korea.

The Philippine cagers, composed of a mix of PBA players, came within seconds of upending the hosts South Korea, 66-68, until Lee Sang Min—who missed his first four attempts beyond the arc earlier in the game—buried a three- pointer at the buzzer to hand the Filipinos their most painful defeat in Asiad memory, 68-69, in the semifinals.

Cho Sungmin was the latest in the long line of Korean sharpshooters to break the hearts of the Filipino faithful, scoring 20 points, including four three-pointers, and leading a fourth quarter rally that saw his team come back from an 11-point deficit.

Cho also nailed the key free throws to preserve the victory for South Korea, going 3-of-4 from the line in the last minute.

Marcus Douthit and Jimmy Alapag played heroically for Team Pilipinas, with the naturalized center scoring 27 points and grabbing 22 rebounds, and the reigning PBA Most Valuable Player scoring 17 points, including five three pointers, most of which kept South Korea at bay for the first three quarters.