Asian Games 2018 Quarterfinals: Semifinals Bracket After Gilas Pilipinas Loss
Gilas Pilipinas will once again leave the Asian Games without a medal.
Ricardo Ratliffe finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds, leading South Korea to a 91-82 win over Gilas in their quarterfinals matchup. The Philippines' loss to their longtime rival will take them to the consolation bracket, where they will attempt to at least finish the event with a fifth-place result.
South Korea are the defending Asian Games champions, while Gilas were seventh during the 2014 tournament.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson led the way for the Philippines with 25 points.
Ratliffe scored seven of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, and South Korea knocked down five threes in the period, coming back after trailing by a point after three quarters.
"I think we did great," Ratliffe said, per Chuck Araneta of ESPN. "I know a lot of the guys were pretty nervous to go against Jordan [Clarkson] because he's one of the best players in the world. Also against Stanley [Pringle] because he's one of the most underrated point guards in Asia. He's definitely I think the fastest. I think that winning this game gave them a lot of confidence going into the semis."
Clarkson, a late addition to the Gilas squad, went 0-2 in games he played at the Asian Games. He scored 28 points during the team's group-play loss to China.
"I feel bad for Jordan," teammate Gabe Norwood said, per Paul Ryding of the South China Morning Post. "He came out and hasn't gotten a win with us yet, and a lot of that goes on us. He's putting his heart out there on both ends of the court, and it comes down to guys like myself to help us get wins down the stretch, and we got to find a way to do that."
South Korea will move on to play Iran, who earned a dominant 93-67 win over Japan in their quarterfinal matchup. Japan's tournament was on borrowed time after the Japanese Olympic Committee sent four players home for indiscretions during the trip.
Japan played the game with only eight players.
Chinese Taipei will also move on to the semis after an 82-75 victory over Syria. The Chinese Taipei team trailed by one in the fourth quarter but pulled away down the stretch with a 25-point final period.
Ying-Chun Chen scored a team-high 24 points, and Cheng Liu added 22 for Taipei.
The full semifinals schedule and bracket for the 2018 Asian Games can be found here.
