South Korea lost to the host Philippines 86-79 at the Asian men’s basketball championship on Saturday.

At the FIBA Asia Championship for men in the Philippines, South Korea has been relegated to the third-place match against Taiwan.

South Korea must beat Taiwan and finish third in Asia to qualify for its first world championship since 1998.

Spain will host the FIBA Basketball World Cup next year.

At the Mall of Asia Arena, South Korea clung to a 77-76 lead with 2:27 left in the fourth quarter, before Ranidel de Ocampo scored a go-ahead bucket.

The Filipino forward then drained a 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining, giving the host country an 81-77 lead.

South Korean guard Yang Dong-geun made two free throws to cut the deficit in half, but Jim Alapag made a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left to put the game out of reach for the visitors.

Guard Kim Min-goo scored a game-high 27 points and went 5-of-11 from downtown in the losing cause.

Yang and forward Kim Joo-sung each had 11 points.

For the Philippines, guard Jayson William led the way with 17 points, followed by Jean Marc Pingris with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran defeated Taiwan 79-60 to reach the final.

Iran won the Asian championship in 2007 and 2009. The Philippines has won five continental titles but none since 1985. (Yonhap News)