The Philippines and Korea have had quite a history in Asian basketball. In 1973, the Philippines won the Asian Basketball Confederation crown at home against Korea; however, Korea has had the Filipinos' number in the past two decades, winning by close margins at the 2002 Asian Games and the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, where the Koreans came from an 8-point deficit to get third place and a slot at the 2012 Olympic qualifier.

Playing in front of the home crowd, the Philippines would like nothing better than to avenge for the heartbreaks they have suffered to the East Asian squad. On the flipside, the Koreans were eager to assert their supremacy over an age-old rival and book a ticket to the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

The first quarter was a game of runs; the Philippines drew first blood on a Jeffrei Chan three-pointer. However, Korea's Cho Sung-Min found his range early, turning a three-point deficit into a four-point lead at the end of the period, 19-14.

The second quarter started with a South Korean run that had them leading by eight points early. With naturalized Filipino center Marcus Douthit struggling from the field, the Koreans were able to limit the Philippines' inside scoring and clogged the passing lanes, leading to fastbreak points that quelled a mid-quarter Philippine rally. Cho and center Kim Min-Goo conspired to extend the Korean lead to 7, capitalizing on the Philippines' foul situation and the absence of Douthit, who was seen limping back to the team dugout as a result of an earlier injury. The Southeast Asians then adjusted with a smaller lineup and whittled down the deficit to 3 thanks to tenacious offensive rebounding. The half ended with the Koreans still on top, 39-36.

The Philippines opened their third quarter storm with the same quick, physical lineup that brought the deficit by 3, taking an eight-point lead on a fastbreak layup and three-pointer from lightning-quick guard Jayson William. The Filipinos weathered a torrid offensive by the Koreans, featuring Kim Min-Goo's outside sniping, and maintained a nine-point lead, 65-56, off five straight points from Jimmy Alapag and a two-handed dunk by Japeth Aguilar.

South Korea sought to capitalize on their outside shooting to start the final quarter, with Kim Min-Goo scoring two straight three-pointers to bring the Philippine lead down to three. With Douthit still on the bench, the Koreans also tried to control the boards, fighting through the rugged Filipino defense, and pounded it inside. Kim Min-Goo also hit a three-pointer while being fouled by Chan, completing the four-point play to spark a run that snatched the lead for Korea with about four minutes to go. The final three minutes were a see-saw affair that saw multiple lead changes, the last thanks to Alapag's consecutive three-pointers and timely inside points by Marc Pingris, leading to a seven-point lead for the Philippines at the end, 86-79.

The whole arena erupted in cheers as the final buzzer sounded, while the Philippine team huddled together in the middle of the court.

The Philippines will qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Cup and will face off with Iran on Sunday for the continental championship.