The South Korea Curse, As Explained In NBA Terms

So yes, it has happened again. South Korea has once again broken the hearts of the Philippine national basketball team, as well as its millions of rabid followers.

It has happened so often and so painfully to us that, in every basketball tournament we play, we live in fear of the Korea Curse.

But much like any curse, there is a logical and rational explanation behind it. We just need to understand it. So here's my take on the Korea Curse, as explained through the NBA landscape.

One, South Korea is International Golden State.
You have to admit, the always-a-green-light, freeflowing, three-point shot hoisting, pinpoint passing, long range bombing system of Korea is reminiscent of the Golden State Warriors' system...except Korea's been doing it since the 60s.



And the thing that's so deadly about either system is that everyone is so unused to defending it. On the break, every player has been taught to run down the court and protect against the easy lay up. The Warriors/Koreans both eschew that and instead go for the pull up three or the kick out three every darned time. It's very hard to ignore years upon years of training of running back on defense to protect against an easy shot, which is why the Koreans/Warriors get what, for them, is the easy shot: A wide open three.

Two, South Korea is the 2017-2018 Boston Celtics.
Just when you look down that roster and say, "who's that?", they drill a three. And then another. And make a good defensive play. And hit two more threes. They're the team filled with good players who have, so far, maximized their system, chemistry, and abilities to become a super team, one capable of toppling down the more traditional giants of the continent.

And while it is easy to pinpoint Ricardo Ratliffe as their key guy, the locals have proven to be just as deadly, as both Kim Sunhyung and Heo Ilyoung both scored 17 points on about 50% 3 point shooting.


Three, the Philippines is the Toronto Raptors and Korea is the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sometimes, it's a mental thing. The Toronto Raptors were the best team in the East for most of the year. But when it came to facing the very dysfunctional Cavs (who went through more changes that year than most teams experienced in years), they just crumbled.

I guess there just was a mental block that refused to let the Raptors win against the Cavs...and it may have played a role against the Philippines winning against Korea too.

But, as of this writing, the Philippines have won its match against a very depleted Japan, 113-80. That means they already improve on their 2014 place (7th) as they can end up no lower than 6th. That, as well as actually having a team here competing, is reason eanough to celebrate.