Team Pilipinas had a bad shooting percentage when they took on Iran and the Team Iran Melli squad book an 81-73 triumph Thursday evening in their first game in the second round of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers in Tehran.
But coach Yeng Guiao said he still has faith on team’s performance.
“I’m pretty satisfied. We only put this team together almost two weeks ago. We’re still a little unfamiliar with each other, so teamwork is not that good yet. But we’ll be better next time,” said Guiao in a statement after the game.
A triple from Mohammad Jamshidijafarabadi provided the spark that lifted Team Melli squad to their sixth win eight games.
The Philippines, which has a crucial closed-door tiff with Qatar on Monday in Manila, now totes a 4-3 slate.
And they are on their way home, with their flight delayed because Supertyphoon “Ompong.”
Throughout the game, Iran shot better with their 49.23 percent field goal clip, while the Philippines struggled at 38.46 percent.
Jamshidijafarabadi’s trey came with 8:14 left in the last period, allowing the Iranians to take control of the game until the end.
A second three-pointer from Rouzbeh Arghavan came almost two minutes later but it enabled the Iranians to widen their edge, 71-64.
Christian Standardhinger, who tallied 30 points for the Philippines, tried to keep the Philippines within range.
But, he shot only one of two charities in the final 5:02, putting Gilas within five points.
Mohammadsamad Nik Khahbahrami made his presence felt with his putback in the remaining 4:17, widening Iran’s edge by nine, 75-66.
Khahbahrami’s two charities in the final 2:48 then saw Iran enjoying an 11-point spread, 77-66.
He went on to tally a game-high 21 points for Iran, while Sajjad Mashayekhi gave in 19 points.
On the other hand, Cabagnot made nine points for Gilas.
Iran’s Hamed Haddadi sat out most of the game as he nursed an injury.
But he was still fielded in with less than a minute to go, with Iran already sure of its sixth win in eight games.
This gave Iran a big chance of advancing in the qualifiers for the 2019 Fiba World Cup in China.
