GILAS TRIES TO SOLVE IRAN PUZZLE ONCE MORE
Calm before the storm.
Gilas Pilipinas and Iran, both having gotten past India, determine their quarterfinal-round groupings in the 17th Asian Games men’s basketball competition as they square off at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. Manila time)Thursday at the Hwaseong Sports Complex in Hwaseong, Korea.
Both the Filipinos and the Iranians have booked spots in the quarters as they topped the Indians in the first two days of the preliminary round.
Nonetheless, Gilas Pilipinas and Iran are tipped to flex their muscles and sweat it out as they try to build momentum going to the quarters beginning Friday.
They also size each other up in preparation for a possible rematch in the semis or in the finals.
The winner in the Gilas-Iran tiff joins the top team from Group C (most probably China) and the No. 2 teams from Groups D and F. The loser, meanwhile, makes the other bracket with the No. 1 teams from Groups D and F and the No. 2 team from C.
The Philippines has enjoyed a resurgence in international basketball but, for all its gutsy stands and courageous efforts, has yet to pull one against Iran in any FIBA tourney in the last 41 years or since the Filipinos ripped the Iranians in their ABC title romp in 1973 in Manila.
The biggest win Gilas Pilipinas has had against Iran was a 77-75 squeaker in the 2012 Jones Cup in Taipei.
The Middle Eastern power immediately got back at Gilas in their FIBA Asia Cup rematch in Tokyo a month later, and Hamed Haddadi and his teammates have since kept their domination of the Filipinos.
Iran overcame Gilas’ brave challenge in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship finals before a raucous hometown crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena, pulling off an 85-71 victory to nail a third Asian title since 2007.
Last July, the Iranians kept their mastery of the Filipinos, hacking out a 76-55 triumph in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup semifinals in Wuhan, China.
Iran has been a puzzle that Gilas Pilipinas just can’t solve.
While Gilas pitched camp in Miami in preparation for the World Cup, Iran, on the other hand, went to Slovenia, testing its mettle against world top-ranked teams like Slovenia, Brazil, Lithuania.
And as they placed fifth in Group A in the World Cup proper, the Iranians wound up 20th overall, a notch ahead of the Filipinos.
Eight players from their 2013 FIBA Asia Championship champion roster are in the Asiad, and these are Haddadi, Nikkhah Bahrami, Mahdi Kamrani, Hamed Afagh, Oshin Sahakian, Mohammed Jamshidi, Asghar Kardoust and Rouzbeh Arghavan. (SB)
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