South Korea has had quite a basketball history: One of their big men, 7'2" Ha Seung-jin, made it to the NBA, while the team itself reached the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2012 and last made the Olympics in 1996. Among the perennial contenders in Asian basketball, they are known for their textbook passing and accurate outside shooting.

In contrast, Qatar forfeited their matches in the 2011 edition of the FIBA Asia tournament after most of their players were ruled ineligible. That lineup included 2012 NBA draftee Targuy Ngombo, who was supposed to be the main cog of the team that is known for rugged, athletic play. Since then, the Gulf nation has bounced back, placing third in the FIBA Asia Cup in 2012. While they shared a 3-1 record in this year's preliminaries, their inferior quotient resulted in a matchup with Korea in the quarterfinals.

In the last of Friday's quarterfinal games, Korea was able to start strong (24-12), thanks to a balanced offense that saw five players scoring for the East Asian champions. They were also helped by a Qatar technical foul that sparked an 8-point run to end the first quarter.

In the second period, Qatar was able to limit Korea's offense to just 16 points while scoring 14 points of their own. However, it was not enough as Korea had a 12-point lead underscored by two emphatic dunks coming from forward Kim Joo-sung.

After the halftime break, Korea simply torched the basket, scoring 7 baskets out of 13 attempts, while Qatar was held to 4-of-14 shooting. The onslaught continued well into the fourth quarter, as the East Asians went 2-of-4 from outside en route to a 79-52 victory.

Four Korean players scored 9 points or more, led by shooting forward Cho Sungmin with 16. Qatar was held to 29 per cent shooting, with only naturalized forward Jarvis Hayes and Erfan Ali Saeed managing to get 10 points each. Korea capitalised on Qatar's eight miscues with 20 turnover points and out-rebounded Qatar, 37-35.

South Korea will face off with the Philippines on Saturday in what should be an emotionally-charged game, with the host Filipinos itching for payback - the Southeast Asians led for most of their 2011 FIBA Asia semifinal match, with South Korea storming back for a two-point victory and a berth in the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers. The winner of Saturday's game will grab one of the three slots in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.