Koreans buck JV heroics, pip Gilas

MANILA, Philippines - South Korea withstood JV Casio’s brilliant offensive game then imposed its will in the paint before pouncing on Smart Gilas Pilipinas’ miscues down the stretch to pull off a 78-70 victory last night and clinch a berth in the semifinals of the William Jones Cup at the Hsinchuang Stadium in New Taipei City here.

Oh Se Keun, a 6-7 brawny power forward, and Ha Seung Jin, the second tallest player here at 7-3, dominated the smaller Smart Gilas side on their way to 19 and 16 points, respectively, while pesky guard Yang Dong Geun fired four triples and finished with 17 points for the Koreans, who remained the only unbeaten team in the tournament with five wins.

“Our inside and outside games worked and we played with defensive intensity,” said Hur Jae, a former national team standout now calling the shots for Korea, which is managed by another local legend Shin Dong Pa, through an interpreter.

Casio came through with one of his prolific games and fired a game-high 27 points, including a spectacular 15-point splurge in the third quarter when the Nationals turned a 12-point deficit into two-point leads twice late in the period before Oh tied it at 56 entering the final period.

Casio tried to carry the fight for Smart Gilas but lost steam in the last quarter, committing four turnovers in the final two minutes of play as the Nationals reeled to their second defeat against three wins to drop into a three-way tie for third with defending titlist Iran and Jordan.

“Our turnovers late in the game cost us the win,” said Smart Gilas mentor Rajko Toroman, hoping to steer the team to its first title here since the Alaska-mentored Centennial squad went all the way in 1998.

Despite the setback, Smart Gilas remains in the hunt for a semis berth although it must beat winless United Arab Emirates at 3 p.m. today. The Nationals close out their elims campaign against Japan at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

The semis is set on Saturday with the finals slated Sunday.

Toroman again lashed out at officiating after naturalized Marcus Douthit went into foul trouble early, slowing down the team’s offensive threat. He, however, finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

“The small referee made a crucial call and put Marcus out of the game,” said Toroman referring to a Malaysian ref, who was one of the three who officiated the controversial Taipei-Jordan game marred by a bench-clearing incident.

“I changed him because of the bad call, they changed the game and Korea made the crucial run. Very, very bad referees and the level of refs are terrible, can’t follow the level of games internationally.

“The last time two neutral refs officiating started the fight last night (Tuesday) and it’s a crime against basketball. They will continue and I don’t know what we can do but the officiating is not good with all the teams not just Smart Gilas,” he added.

Earlier, defending back-to-back champion Iran needed a mighty second half push to wallop Malaysia, 69-49, to keep its flickering semifinal hopes and improve to a 3-2 (win-loss) slate.

Jordan, which roared to a 3-0 start including a 76-72 win over Smart Gilas Monday, lost a second straight game to Japan in a stunning 70-87 defeat. The Jordanians earlier dropped a protest-marred 75-77 defeat to Chinese Taipei.

Jordan put its Taipei loss under protest after the latter escaped sanction for a bench-clearing incident that happened early in the fourth quarter.

“I think the game was inspirational for Taipei. They played intelligently. Unfortunately, they don’t deserve to win, neither deserved to win,” Baldwin said. “All of my 30 years in basketball, playing and coaching, this is the only game that lacked integrity almost from the beginning.”

“There is a very simple rule, to protect the players and to prevent fights and brawls during games. Players leaving the bench must be disqualified in the game. No exemption to the rule. No excuse, they should be disqualified,” he added.

Toroman, a veteran on the Asian circuit who steered Iran to the Olympics and FIBA Worlds, slammed the organizers and threatened to pull out the team if neutral referee of Hong Kong would continue to work the games.

Baldwin, who snubbed the post game interview after the painful Japan loss, also warned they’re not playing if the Hong Kong referee, Yuen Chun Yip, will officiate their future games.