By Vivem Soriano
Eagle News Service
The Yeng Guiao era is off to a rough start after Iran defeated the Philippines 81-73 at the Azady Gym in Tehran at the resumption of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
This is the first FIBA qualifier match for the Philippines since that now-infamous July 2 game against Australia was marred with a massive brawl that led to 10 Gilas players and long-time coach Chot Reyes being suspended.
He later resigned.
Team Pilipinas frontcourt led the charge for the visitors in the opening quarter, with SMB big man Christian Standhardinger leading the offense for Gilas with 10 points.
Old reliable Asi Taulava and Elastopainter Beau Belga each connected from downtown as the visiting Pinoy ballers captured a 22-21 lead at the end the first.
It was a back-and-forth affair during the 2nd quarter, with multiple lead changes between the Iranians and the visiting Filipinos but the home held on to a 40-38 lead heading into the halftime break.
Belga though had to return to be bench during the 2nd quarter after suffering a bloodied nose.
He was able to return to the game.
Physical game
It got physical and bloody early in the 3rd quarter, with another Gilas player, SMB sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter, suffering a nasty cut in the eye.
He left the game but was able to return late in the third.
Iran and the Philippines were also whistled for a double technical after a small scuffle.
Iran shot well from the outside though as the home team finished the 3rd quarter with a 63-59 lead.
Iran’s good shooting continued in the final quarter, extending their lead to 12 midway in the 4th.
The Philippines forced turnovers down the stretch but Gilas just could not buy a basket late in the game.
Veteran Mohammadsamad Nik Khahbahrami led Iran with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Sajjad Mashayekhi scored 19 and dished out 4 assists while Arsalan Naeini had a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.
Standhardinger led Gilas with a big 30-point and 12-rebound performance for the visiting Philippines.
SMB guard Alex Cabagnot scored 9 points and dished out 5 assists in his international debut while Belga added 7 points.
Stats
2018 Asian Games silver medalists Iran shot well in the field, shooting 49.2% including 32% from downtown.
They outrebounded the much smaller Philippine squad 45-36.
The Philippines had a really bad night from beyond the arc, shooting just 18% from the outside. The bright side for Gilas was that it was a total team effort in scoring, with 10 players scoring a basket and the Filipino bench outscoring Iran 55-15.
The Philippines now sits with a 4-3 record in Group F and will try to bounce back against Qatar at a closed-door game at the Araneta Coliseum.
Iran, now with a 6-1 record, next faces a resurgent Japan when they travel to Tokyo on Monday.
