BUZZER-BEATER. SJ Belangel hits an off-balanced three-pointer off the glass at the buzzer to give Gilas Pilipinas a come-from-behind 81-78 victory against archrival South Korea at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center on June 16. The Philippines will once again face South Korea in the second game of a triple-header to end the Angeles bubble on Sunday (June 20). (Screengrab)
MANILA – SJ Belangel, the hero in Gilas Pilipinas' Wednesday night win against South Korea, headlines the Philippine team roster that will face South Korea again in their highly anticipated rematch on Sunday.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas announced on Saturday night that the spitfire guard has been retained for the Gilas-South Korea grudge match.
RJ Abarrientos, Balti Baltazar, Geo Chiu, Isaac Go, Jordan Heading, Ange Kouame, Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto are the other holdovers from Gilas' Friday night win against Indonesia that will face South Korea.
Will Navarro, Mike Nieto, and Jaydee Tungcab, who sat out on Friday night, will be making a comeback, replacing Carl Tamayo, Lebron Lopez, and Javi Gomez De Liano.
Tamayo was ruled out for Sunday after suffering a Grade 1 ankle injury late into Gilas' rout of Indonesia.
Gilas, currently 5-0 in Group A, is gunning for a sweep of the group through another win against South Korea in their 3 p.m. game on Sunday.
Belangel hit an off-balanced triple off the glass at the buzzer as the Philippines hacked out a come-from-behind 81-78 victory against South Korea last Wednesday to formalize the country’s entry to the FIBA Asia Cup.
South Korea beats Thailand by 67 points
On Saturday night, South Korea mauled Thailand by 67 points, 120-53, at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
A far cry from their first meeting in Seoul during the first window last year, in which the Thais pushed the Koreans to the limit before conceding an 86-93 loss, the latter never gave the former an inch this time, quickly racing to a double-digit lead in the first quarter before dropping a 37-6 second quarter.
Ha Yun-Gi led South Korea, which moved up to 4-1 in Group A, with 34 points on 14-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block off the bench.
Yeo Jun-Seok top-scored for the starters with 23 points on 9-of-12 field goals, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Lee Hyun-Jung added 20 markers, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks.
Wattana Suttisin made 12 points and two rebounds for Thailand, which fell to 0-5 after making its debut in the Angeles bubble.
Thailand will next face Indonesia in a noontime match to open the Sunday three-game treat. (PNA)
