The competition in the Asian basketball scene may be tough especially with the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand in the region this year, but multi-titled coaches Yeng Guiao and Norman Black believe that South Korea
South Korea has the tools to regain supremacy in the continent.
The two coaches who once handled the national team in the past made that observation after watching Gilas Pilipinas get a 118-86 drubbing at the hands of the Koreans in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals.
“Hindi lang siya designed para talunin tayo. Designed rin siya to beat China, New Zealand and even Australia. In short, Korea’s basketball philosophy is geared towards regaining basketball supremacy in Asia,” Guiao said.
“I think they’ve sent their best team in the competition and not only did they send their best team, they are obviously well-prepared,” Black said.
Guiao is in awe of the discipline and selflessness of Korean basketball which thrives on ball movement, three-point shooting and team defense.
“It’s the culture they bring which made the team great. They veered away from emulating the Americans and developed their own style of play. In fact, yung game natin against them was a battle between style and substance. We have the best talent, but we lost to a better team. Kung ang Gilas, puso ang pinaiiral, yung Korea naman, utak,” Guiao said.
