Having played in a unified team at the Asian Games in Jakarta five years ago, North and South Korea’s women basketballers battled each other Friday in a full-blooded contest that the South won 81-62. Five days later, they’re set to meet again in the same venue as their rematch, though this time as foes instead of teammates.

The countries are technically still at war, but they have been engaged in unprecedented talks this year to ease tensions and boost cross-border ties. They will field combined teams in several sports at this year’s Games, including women’s basketball, rowing, and canoeing.

North and South Korea’s basketball players wore matching white uniforms for the first time at this year’s Asian Games as they thrashed Indonesia in their debut match on Wednesday. Every time the team scored, the stadium in Jakarta was filled with passionate claps and cheers synchronized with drum-beating sounds from fans wearing shirts featuring the Korean “unification” flag.

The rivalry continued to the next game, where the South beat Malaysia 88-74. Naturalized player Ricardo Ratliffe (203-F-89, college: Missouri), who plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, led South Korea with a double-double of 37 points and 12 rebounds. But more was needed to get the team into the semifinals against Iran.

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South Korea coach Jung Sun-min warned her players not to respond aggressively if the game got physical, and it did at times. Six-foot-8 North Korean center Pak Ji-na laid a few bruising hits on her opponents.

But despite the game’s physicality, the two teams maintained mutual respect. Jung commended the North for being “very professional” and said she hoped the two sides would meet again. During the post-game press conference, the only response from a North Korean official was an upbraiding at a reporter for not calling the country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The Koreas will meet again on Sunday, with South Korea facing Chinese Taipei and the North taking on Thailand. The outcome will determine whether the teams advance to the quarterfinals or not.

South Korea and China are tied for first place in Group D, but the Philippines have a better record against their northern rivals. The Filipinos have won three of four games against the Chinese, including a 91-77 win Thursday that guaranteed them second place in the pool and a matchup with the South Koreans. In the other pool D game, Kazakhstan beat the Philippines 83-66 to finish second in the group and play the North Koreans in the next round. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson leads the Philippines with 25 points in the tournament. The likes of Dallas Mavericks center Ding Yanyuhang and Houston Rockets center Zhou Qi will join him. The game starts at 11 a.m. Manila time.