Resilient Korea

Two hours after punching the wall because of the Philippines' nasty defeat at the hands of Iran in the Fiba-Asia Basketball Championships in Japan, I decided that I should stay away from basketball TV and watch a football match.

The Korea-Japan match was a welcome respite for me. It didn't matter that they were playing for third place in the Asian Cup. I was looking forward to quality football that unfortunately is lacking in the Philippines.

So there I was. Glued to Star Sports until the 90th minute, 120th minute and the gripping penalty shootout. I was watching the game with my 13-year-old brother, who also felt a little tension while watching the shootout.

I was constantly exchanging text messages with my Korean friend, Bruno, also a Man Utd fan. He told me that the Korean team is not the strongest in years because the five Premiere League stars are not in it.

I wrote this immediately after the match. I wasn't taking notes so forgive me.

In a match that had all the trappings of a classic, Korea won third place in the Asian Cup, beating Japan 6-5 on penalties, after 120 minutes of football ended scoreless.

The Koreans, down to 10 men in the 57th minute when Kang Min Soo was shown a second yellow card for a dubious foul on Takahara, pulled through, thanks to their tough-as-nails defense and the heroics of 34-year-old keeper Woon Jae.

Woon Jae stopped Hanyu's penalty kick, sending the Koreans into jubilation. The win assured Korea of a spot in the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.

It was a virtuoso performance by the Korean keeper. He foiled Takahara from close-range in stoppage time in the first half and had another save in the latter stages of second half when Japan tried to capitalize on its advantage and pushed forward.

It was an unbeleivable effort from Korea. Japan was the more attack minded side but Korea also proved strong in defense, despite Min Soo's exit.

Watching the match evoked memories of last year's coverage of the Asean Football Championships here in Bacolod. There were around 18000 people at the Panaad in one of the RP XI's games and when the goals came, it felt like the stadium was about to collapse. The RP booters did not disappoint, winning 3 of four games.

Here's hoping for another international football tournament here.