CLARK CITY (Philippines) - The Philippines win in their rematch against Korea in another close game to clinch first place in Group A, 82-77.

The win maintained the status of the Philippines as one of the few undefeated squads through the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers.

Korea started the game out on fire once again, blasting off to a 9-0 run.

However, just as they did the first time these teams played against each other, the Philippines came roaring back and started taking control of the momentum.

The young Gilas squad dominated on the boards, specifically on the offensive end. They grabbed 20 offensive rebounds in total, resulting in 24 second chance points to stop Korea from gaining any flow on offense.

Dwight Ramos lined up on a three-pointer with just under 4 minutes left in the game to give the Philippines their biggest lead of the fourth quarter. At the moment, it felt like the clincher for the Philippines but Korea had another burst left in them, cutting the lead down to just 77-75 with less than a minute to go.

In the end, a fumbled possession that fell into the hands of Justine Baltazar led to a breakaway dunk which more or less sealed the game for coach Tab Baldwin and his team.

It was a well-balanced offense for the Philippines, with Ramos leading the team in scoring for 19 points. The rising star has been rock solid in all games of the Qualifiers and had another great game once again with 5 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals as well.

Korea’s main big man, Ra Guna, provided the firepower inside with 20 points and 13 rebounds, but the team needed much more from the outside shooting of their wings. The team made 10 three in this game but connected on only 28.6 percent of those long-range shots.

The win locked up first place for the Philippines in Group A with a 6-0 record while Korea finishes in second place with a 5-1 record.

FIBA