South Korea clinched the first semifinal spot on Wednesday by beating the Philippines 74-66 in the quarterfinals of the 16th Asian Games men's basketball tournament.

Oh Sekeun came off the bench to score 19 points for South Korea, who had four players in double-digit with Kim Jung Chul 13, Lee Seung Jun 12 and Kim Joo Sung 10.

S. Korea, who didn't field their top scorers Lee Seung Jun and forward Cho Sung Min as starters, played a close game in the first 16 minutes.

The medal contenders narrowly led first quarter after making a 6-0 run, and were only one point ahead before they finished a 44-36 halftime lead thanks to a 7-2 spurt.

The Korean players extended the edge to 11 points twice in the third quarter. But the Philippines, who qualified by beating Kuwait and stunning runner-up Qatar in the preliminary round, fought back to cut the deficit to five points, 49-54, before S. Korea used a 7-2 run to re-control the game.

The Philippines made it for 61-67 with 3:40 seconds left. But Lee Seung Jun's 3-pointer and another basket put the Korean on safety and the Philippines never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

"We shot really bad behind acr in the first half," said Philippine coach Jajko Toroman. "Korea scored too many points in the first 20 minutes and then they defended well, controlling their advantage."

South Korea shot 4-for-8 3-pointers to the Philippines' 1-for-9 and outclassed their rivals with 58 percent to 45 in the first half.

Pauliasi Taulava led the Philippines in shooting with a game-high 23 points, and guard Joseph Evans Casio added 13 and dished out four assits.

"It was a very tough game, South Korea shot realy well. We just need to focus and practise hard in the future," Casio said.

South Korea will face the winner between Japan, the first place in the Group F, and DPR Korea in the semifinals.

 (Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2010)