By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--The Korean road block once again hit Gilas Pilipinas.
South Korea clinched the first spot in the Asian Games men's basketball tournament with a 91-82 comeback victory over Gilas at the GBK Baskteball Hall in Jakarta on Monday.
A hot fourth quarter was all South Korea needed to eliminate Gilas from the medal hunt.
South Korea went off to a hot start, taking a 14-5 lead midway in the first quarter.
But Gilas recovered and even led by as much as eight in the third as Ricardo Ratliffe was saddled with foul trouble and the Korean locals' outside shooting not clicking.
However, resiliency in the rebounding game helped a lot for South Korea as the team found second wind on its second chance shots even as Gilas began piling turnovers in rest of the second half, leading to a 27-17 fourth quarter that sealed the deal for South Korea.
Ratliffe made 30 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal for South Korea. Kim Sun-Hyung and Heo Il-Young each added 17 points.
After a dismal first half, Jordan Clarkson fired 19 third quarter points en route to a 25-point performance for Gilas, which was relegated to the lower bracket, where the team can finish as high as fifth place.
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