Marc Pingris felt déjà vu after watching Gilas Pilipinas' dramatic win over South Korea

Gilas Pilipinas' breathtaking 81-78 victory over South Korea on Wednesday brought back a lot of memories from the past.

And former national team mainstay Marc Pingris was quick to reminisce every bit of it.

"Grabe. Ang saya ng panalo na 'yun nila kasi parang bumalik lahat sa alaala ko, parang nakita ko na 'yun. Familiar lahat," the now-retired Pingris told GMA News Online in an interview.

("Wow. I was so happy with their win because it's as if my memories came back, as if I've seen it before. Everything is familiar.")

"Gusto ko na i-congratulate 'yung mga bata dahil grabe 'yung puso na pinakita nila," Pingris said. "Tambak na nu'ng first quarter pero talagang tinrabaho nila para makabalik sila. Kaya sobrang familiar para sa akin 'yung game na ito eh."

("I want to congratulate the kids because they showed tremendous heart. The first quarter was lopsided but they really worked hard to come back. That's why the game was so familiar to me.")

The youthful Gilas made up of an all-cadet squad outclassed South Korea in a dramatic fashion to earn a ticket to the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup in Indonesia this August.

The Filipinos were down by as much as 17 markers early in the game, but were able to regroup come the second half to steal away the game courtesy of a clutch trey by the debuting guard SJ Belangel with 2.9 ticks left in the clock.

Back in 2013, Pingris and the Gilas Pilipinas were in a similar situation.

Down most of the game against the more favored South Korea during the semifinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, the Filipinos hoped to mount a late rally to arrange a finals duel against Iran and a seat in the 2014 World Cup.

They did just that. 

Trailing by a slim two points, 73-75, skipper Jimmy Alapag buried a three that gave the Philippine back the lead with 3:01 left in the game but Kim Tae-Sool answered with a jumper, 76-77.

Veteran forward Ranidel de Ocampo then notched five-straight points to give the Filipinos a huge lead, 81-77, but Yang Donggeun shot his two charities to cut the deficit to two, 81-79.

With 54 seconds to go, Alapag sank a cold-blooded triple as Gilas established an 84-79 upperhand.

It was Pingris' put-back, though, that wrapped the game for the Philippines, 86-79, breaking the heart of its Asian archrival South Korea.

"Naaalala ko tuloy 'yung ginawa ni Jimmy sa three points na 'yun ni SJ. Mahusay talaga and congrats din kay Coach Tab kasi ang galing ng ginawa niya sa dulo," Pingris said.

("I remembered what Jimmy did because of SJ's three-pointer. He is really good and congratulations also to Coach Tab for what he did in the endgame.")

"Very similar eh. Halos lamang 'yung Korea sa amin noon sa buong game tapos sa huli talaga kami bumawi kaya nakuha namin 'yung panalo," he added. "Nakakatuwa itong Gilas ngayon kasi kahit mga bata pa lang sila, kita mo talaga 'yung puso."

("It's so similar. Back then Korea was ahead of us the whole game but we made up for it in the endgame that's why we won. This Gilas team is impressive because even though they are still young, you can really see the heart.")

Pingris also found another similarity between the two as both games were played on home soil, which he said was a big boost for the players especially in crucial moments.

"Parang déjà vu kasi pareho na home court so it was a big help sa aming mga players kasi may pride eh. Mas matindi 'yung pinaglalaban," he said.

("It's like déjà vu because both [games] were played on home court so it was a big help to us players because the pride is there. We're fighting for something big.")

The only difference that Pingris can see in their feat seven years ago with Gilas' win on Wednesday was the presence of a rabid crowd.

The Filipinos' triumph in 2013 was witnessed by almost 20,000 people inside the Mall of Asia Arena, while the match yesterday was held in a closed-door setup in Angeles University Foundation (AUF) Gym in Angeles, Pampanga due to the pandemic.

"Sayang lang kasi wala 'yung mga fans. Di nila nakita nang malapitan 'yung game," said Pingris, who's phenomenally dubbed as "Pinoy Sakuragi."

(It's sad that the fans weren't there. They didn't see the game up close.")

"Ganito pala feeling ng mga tao nu'ng kami 'yung naglalaro dati. Ang sarap pala sa pakiramdam and ang sarap lang balikan."

("So this is how people felt back then when we were playing. It feels so good and it's nice to look back.")

—MGP, GMA News