After all was said and done, South Korea's Ricardo Ratliffe proved to be the difference maker the Gilas Pilipinas was dreading.
The South Korean naturalized player erupted for 30 points and 14 rebounds in South Korea's 91-82 win over the Philippines, grabbing a seat in the semifinals while relegating the Philippine squad to the classification round.
For Ratliffe, it was a strange feeling to play against familiar foes and a country he had grown quite fond of. The American-born center played two conferences in the PBA with the Purefoods franchise, thus knew quite a lot about basketball in the country. That's why Ratliffe wasn't surprised that the Philippines put up a heck of a fight before falling short in the final period.
"When I'm not going for my team, I'm always going for the Philippines," Ratliffe said after the game. "I watch all the PBA games, and I watch Gilas all the time. For them to have a team that's only been together for one week, they did a great job."
"We've been together since January, and the only thing they're missing now is chemistry," he added.
The Philippines hung tough against their Asian rivals grabbing the lead at the half and going up by as many as eight points in the 3rd quarter. However Ratliffe was key in the 4th period, as he wiggled lose to score in the paint and force Gilas to have to account for him.
Ratliffe was an anchor for South Korea in more ways than one. His familiarity with the Filipinos on the opposing end, including Jordan Clarkson who he was teammates with in college, helped calm the nerves of his teammates until they were able to find their groove in the payoff period.
"I think we did great," Ratliffe said. "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."
Ratliffe's explosion was by no means something the Philippines wanted to see, but they braced for it accordingly. According to Gilas coach Yeng Guiao, the team decided to challenge Ratliffe's ability to beat them on offense.
"Our strategy was to stay close to them and sacrifice the single coverage on Ratliffe," Guiao admitted. "It was working for three and a half quarters until the final five and a half minutes. But it was a good effort. The guys gave their all and I couldn't ask anything more of them."
Korea exploded for five triples in the final quarter, and Ratliffe chipped in with seven points in the period. With the perimeter shooting clicking and their big man flexing inside, Korea ran away with the victory.
Despite the win, Ratliffe knows the team still has a lot of work to do. And even though they got the win, he couldn't help but heap praise on the Filipinos who stood out in the contest.
"This is my first time playing against Stanley (Pringle) and Big Chris (Standhardinger)," noted Ratliffe. "I enjoyed playing battling against him. For the most part, most players were new to me. So I just enjoyed it, also with JC."
Mission accomplished for Ratliffe and South Korea, at least for today. But despite dealing a heartbreaking loss, Ratliffe is hopeful this isn't the end as far as his ties with the Philippines go.
"Hopefully I can still play in the PBA," Ratliffe said with a sheepish grin. "When I was at the free throw line, I didn't like all those boos."
ESPN5's Selina Dagdag contributed to this report.