Gilas Pilipinas vs. South Korea: Time, Preview for 2015 William Jones Cup

Neither team played in last year's William Jones Cup, but the Philippines national basketball team, dubbed Gilas Pilipinas, will take on South Korea on Monday in the tournament in Taiwan's Xinchuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.

South Korea enters having lost both of its prior contests, while Gilas Pilipinas claimed victory in its opener 77-69 over Chinese Taipei-A.

But Gilas Pilipinas has a tough schedule, playing the second of eight days in a row after receiving a bye to start. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET). Monday's game will only be aired on TV on Sports5 and won't be available on live stream (h/t Interaksyon.com), according to the listings.

There is some William Jones Cup history associated with these two squads to suggest a solid matchup is in store. South Korea came in third in the 2013 tournament, and Gilas Pilipinas won the top prize in 2012, defeating the 15-time champion United States in the championship game.

Although the latter team is markedly different this time around and is coming off a two-year absence from the event, the Philippines is playing inspired basketball at the moment.

NBA player Andray Blatche is not with Gilas Pilipinas. Blatche left Taiwan to tend to his sick mother and attend his uncle's funeral.

"We've been talking to Andray in the past couple of days and he's been talking to his family. The situation is tough," said Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin, per Sports5's Carlo Pamintuan. "His mom is alone now. She lost her last sibling and Andray has been taking care of her in the last six months so he wanted to be with her."

One positive for Gilas is that Ranidel de Ocampo is slated to return for the showdown with South Korea. De Ocampo, who was out of the lineup with a pulled hamstring, is a versatile forward who can play the 3 or 4 position and has range extending to the three-point arc.

Although Blatche's presence and impact on the inside can't be replicated, the Philippines likely won't have much trouble getting past South Korea without him—especially with De Ocampo coming back.

It also helps that Los Angeles Lakers star Jordan Clarkson is on the bench for moral support if nothing else. Clarkson has yet to suit up, but he was cheering on Gilas' Terrence Romeo, who led the way with 18 points in the win over Chinese Taipei and had a highlight-reel crossover and finish, per The LakeShow PH:

Romeo is evidently a playmaking guard who was named the Philippine Basketball Association's Most Improved Player this year.

South Korea has its work cut out just to make this clash competitive. A 31-point loss to Iran to tip off its William Jones Cup preceded a tough 86-84 defeat at the hands of Russian squad Spartak Primorye.

Since the team at the end of eight games with the best record wins the Cup, South Korea can seldom afford to lose any more from here on out. Facing a team in the Philippines that matches Iran with four gold medals as the most by a non-USA team won't make matters any easier.

Gilas has larger goals in mind than the William Jones Cup. The tournament will serve as a suitable tune-up for a prospective run at a gold medal in FIBA Asia, which Baldwin emphasized before this event is the primary objective, according to Marisse Panaligan of GMANetwork.com.

Nevertheless, there is a task at hand, and Gilas should be able to handle South Korea with the edge in talent.