Gilas Pilipinas vs. South Korea: Score and Reaction from 2015 William Jones Cup

On Sunday, Gilas Pilipinas looked just fine without Andray Blatche. A day later, it was clear the Philippines desperately need its star to return sooner than later.  

Lee Seung-hyun scored a team-high 19 points as one of four South Korean players in double figures as it earned an 82-70 victory over Gilas in its William Jones Cup matchup.

It's the first win of the Cup for South Korea, which recovered from its blowout loss to Iran on Friday to turn in back-to-back strong performances. Picking up where it left off in its two-point loss to Russia, South Korea moved the ball well and kept the offense moving at a quick pace.

Four South Korean players had at least three assists, with Park Chan-hee and Kim Tae-sul leading the way with four. The ball movement came together in a big way in the fourth quarter, as South Korea broke a tie with a 9-0 run that would prove insurmountable. The South Koreans scored 28 points in the fourth overall, taking advantage of bad turnovers and missed opportunities to put Gilas away. 

In addition to Lee, Moon Tae-young (17 points), Lee Jung-hyun (12 points) and Lee Jong-hyun (11 points) were also in double figures. Moon also added 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals for his best all-around game of the tournament. 

“They just outplayed us. I thought they were the better team,” Gilas coach Tab Baldwin said, per Musong R. Castillo of the Philippine Daily Enquirer. “We just have to check that (individuality). Offensively, we just didn’t have the flow.”

Gilas' effort was led by Terrence Romeo, who scored a game-high 23 points and dominated the ball on offense. Romeo attempted 13 shots and went to the free-throw line seven times; he had nine of his points in the critical fourth quarter. However, Gilas consistently failed to generate solid ball movement and was often left to individual creation over team play.

“I thought we were very individualistic, and I don’t like that,” Baldwin said.

Gary David, who had 16 points, was the only other Philippines player who wound up in double figures. Gilas made just 35.8 percent of its shots overall and had two times as many turnovers (14) as assists. Ranidel de Ocampo had a particularly rough night, making two of his 10 shots en route to a disappointing five-point evening.

The Philippines were without Blatche for the second straight contest as he deals with the death of his uncle. Blatche, who has become a bit of a cult figure for his brilliant international play, is expected back with the team at some point this week.

"Anybody who lost a close relative, and his uncle is close to him (Blatche), knows how tough it is," Baldwin told Alder Almo of PhilStar.com.

South Korea will take on the United States on Tuesday in a matchup of 1-2 teams. Gilas takes on a Russian team that is yet to drop a game in the round-robin format, though it is one that has looked vulnerable in consecutive wins. Without Blatche or a coherent offensive strategy, however, Gilas could be looking at an uphill battle.