The stage is set – either for another heartbreak or a triumph so glorious that it left an entire nation in tears.
Gilas Pilipinas vs South Korea happens again and unlike the last time these two countries met just over three weeks ago, their quarterfinal clash in the Fiba Asia Cup in Lebanon on tonight has a lot at stake.
So much so that the game will be a guaranteed tearjerker, whichever way it goes.
The Koreans sealed their clash with the gung-ho Filipinos after ripping Japan, 81-68, on Monday night and they will be the first of three huge roadblocks Gilas has to hurdle to regain Asian cage supremacy.
Getting back to the top of the region in the sport the Philippines treats like religion became an achievable dream a week ago when the Filipinos, undersized as usual and with less than two weeks practicing together, brought down defending champion China and tilted the balance of power in the biennial conclave.
The game set at 11:30 p.m. (Manila time) at Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and the Filipinos would like nothing less than a repeat of the 2013 triumph in the Final Four of this event in Manila to happen again.
That victory was the first after a series of heartrending defeats in major international events, and it left the jampacked Mall of Asia Arena crowd crying tears of joy as the Filipinos entered the title game – but eventually lost – against Hamed Hadadi and Iran the following day.
But it wasn’t the gold medal that got away that remained in the minds of the Filipino fans.
Up until this day, when Jimmy Alapag, the retired former Gilas captain, anchored Team Philippines’ swashbuckling finish with huge triples, the game this country remembers most is the one against Korea.
The Philippines eventually made it back to the World Cup proper after more than four decades and eventually ended up winning a preliminary round game for the first time when it turned back Senegal in an overtime thriller, 81-79, in Seville, Spain.
Gilas will have to do it with practically a new breed of players, with only Gabe Norwood, Jason Castro and the injured June Mar Fajardo part of that Manila team.
Korea also has a new look, with the veteran Oh Se Keun leading this young squad that dealt the Philippines an 83-72 defeat in the Jones Cup in Taipei just more than three weeks ago.
But that loss didn’t hurt, it was actually just a pinch.
This game is the one that matters, and knowing the history behind the rivalry of these two teams, defeating the Koreans could ultimately matter greater than the one the Filipinos carved out against the Chinese, no matter what the final tournament outcome will be.
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