Asian Games 2018: Gilas Vs South Korea

Tomorrow, we get to face the basketball team that has been responsible for so many heartbreaks for Pinoy fans: South Korea. It's a match up that's been hyped up so much the past few days that it's hard to find an angle to discuss that hasn't been discussed yet.

And yet here I am. For this article, we'll look at key match ups to look out for in tomorrow game:

Key Match Up #1 Jordan Clarkson/Stanley Pringle vs Kim Sun-hyung/Lee Jung-hyun/Heo Ung
The Gilas starting backcourt is some kinda amazing and should dominate their South Korean counterparts, who are all solid but not spectacular.  Clarkson/Pringle are deadly on both sides of the floor and will pose the biggest problems for South Korea.



Key Match Up #2  Paul Lee/Gabe Norwood vs Jeon Jun-beom/ Heo Il-young
The South Korean wings are deadly from three, with both hitting north of 50%. And they aren't shy about letting it fly from rainbow country either, with both shooting a majority of their shots from there. On the other hand, Paul Lee is a more versatile scorer while Norwood is a lock down defender. It should be interesting to see if Lee can tire out his defender with his offensive moves while Norwood tires out the shooters with relentless defense.

Key Match Up #3 Christian Standhardinger vs Ricardo Ratliffe
This may be the match up that is most intriguing. Ratliffe has been dominant in the Asian Games and during his stint as a PBA import. But what we do know about Standhardinger is he doesn't back down against anyone. Standhadinger already took on NBA player Zhou Qi and acquitted himself well and I doubt Ratliffe can make him flinch. Still, Ratliffe has a been advantage here and Standhardinger is going to need Poy Erram and Raymond Almazan to help him guard Ratliffe.

Prediction: Clarkson and Pringle are our aces in the hole. Look for them to tow Gilas to victory 80-70.