on the roster, the team on the 1995 Asian Championship in Seoul finished last in the preliminary round, but managed to win two games in the classification round to finish 12th out of 19 teams. The team that went to Riyadh for the ABC Championship 1997 did only marginally better; they still finished last in the preliminary round but topped the classification round group en route to a ninth-place finish. In 1998, the PBA formed the Philippine Centennial Team coached by the American Tim Cone that captured the 21st William Jones Cup championship but finished with the bronze medal in the 1998 Asian Games held in Bangkok. The Filipinos faced their old nemesis Korea in the quarterfinals and were blown out by twenty points, which led them to face China in the semifinals anew. The result would be the same as four years earlier, with the Chinese winning by nine. The Filipinos won the bronze medal game though, against Kazakhstan. In the 1999 Asian Championship in Fukuoka, Japan, the Philippines, with no PBA players on their roster, finished last in the preliminary round, and second in the classification round to finish 11th out of 15 teams. In Shanghai for the 2001 Asian Championship, the Philippines was suspended by FIBA due to leadership disputes at the BAP. This caused the country to miss their first Asian championship. By 2002, a compromise was sorted out, and the Philippines was allowed to participate in the 2002 Asian Games, coached by Jong Uichico. In Busan, South Korea, the Philippines easily qualified for the quarterfinals, in which they are grouped with China, Japan and Chinese Taipei. The Philippines won by five points against Japan, and 14 points against Chinese Taipei. The game against China wasn't as close, with the Philippines losing by 41 points, but this assured that they won't have to face China in the semifinals. For the third consecutive time, the Filipinos and Koreans faced in the semifinals, with the same result: the Koreans won over the Philippines, this time by one point. Up by two points, Olsen Racela missed two free throws, that led to a Korean three-pointer at the buzzer to eliminate the Filipinos. The team would lose in the bronze medal game against Kazakhstan by 2 points as Korea defeated China in overtime by a basket to win Asian Games gold for the first time since 1970. With no PBA