Gilas Pilipinas failed to recover from a slow start, bowing to the South Korean national team, 81-55 in the Hana Bank Invitational in Suwon City on Friday night.
The Filipinos, who are using the two friendly games in Korea as part of their Asian Games buildup, trail by 12 points at the half and were held to just 22 points in the second half as the Koreans registered the blowout win.
South Korea appeared sharp in its execution since coming off a split of its FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, where it lost to Lebanon, 93-74, and won over Saudi Arabia, 85-73.
Lee Junghyun led the Koreans with 27 points and five rebounds.
Gilas Pilipinas will try to bounce back on Sunday when the Filipinos face the same Korean team.
After the two-game tune-up, Gilas Pilipinas will head to Aichi-Nagoya, Japan for the Asian Games, where the Philippines are the defending men’s basketball champion.
