The spell of heartbreaking defeats to Korea is finally over.
Spurred by the capacity-crowd and the millions of Filipinos watching from their homes, Smart Gilas Pilipinas took home an emotional 86-79 win over their South Korean tormentors, to book a slot in the gold medal game of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships last night at the MOA Arena.
After some anxious moments in the endgame, the Philippine National Basketball Team managed to impose their will in the final moments of the game, thereby setting a date with Asian superpower Iran in the championship match and also, securing a slot in thw World Cup of Basketball to be held in Spain next year.
The Gilas battlecry of "Puso!" was clearly personified in this game, especially after main guy Marcus Douthit was injured in the second quarter, prompting guys like Marc Pingris, who finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Ranidel De Ocampo to fill the void left by their hustle and end game heroics.
The Koreans proved to be a tough adversary, led by their 19-year old superstar Kim Ming Goo, who finished with a game-high 27 points, including a sensational 4 point play in the home stretch to push the Koreans to within a point, 73-72 after Gilas led as much as 10 after their third quarter storm.
But Jimmy Alapag kept the Filipinos' heads above water with a cold-blooded 3 pointer, to up the lead to five points, 84-79 with only 53 seconds remaining to seal the deal in this grudge match.
