Struggling offensively, PHL quintet loses to Iran in Asiad caging

GUANGZHOU — The Philippine-Smart Gilas team faced an Iranian team with two of its key players missing. Unfortunately, the Filipinos came out flat offensively and lost to the Iranians, 48-65, in their opening assignment in Group F basketball competition of the 16th Asian Games here at the Huangpu Gymnasium. Hamed Sohrabnejad came off the bench and scored 11 points to spark Iran’s breakaway in the first half . The Iranians, the reigning two-time FIBA Asia champions, took a commanding 40-25 lead at the turn. “This was our worst game since I handled the team in two years," said PHL- Smart Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman. “It was really our bad offense that decided the game. Our defense was good as we held them to only 65 points," added the Serbian mentor, who led Iran to the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship crown and its first Olympic basketball stint in 2008. Skipper Chris Tiu led the Filipinos with 14 points, highlighted by 4-of-5 shooting from the three-point zone, but the former Ateneo star accounted for five of Smart Gilas’ 25 turnovers. “We struggled offensively and made a lot of turnovers. We also played tight," said Tiu, who bounced back from a dismal 3-of-12 shooting in their 76-69 win against Kuwait. The Philippines actually scored the first four points of the game, but was held down to just 26 points up to the third period by a stifling Iranian defense. Iran took a 47-30 spread entering the fourth period. Iran’s lead reached as high as 21 points at 55-34 before Tiu hit a triple to start an 8-0 blast to cut the lead to 13, 42-55, 4:57 remaining. Oshin Sahakian scored the next four points to silence the mini-run by the Filipinos, 59-42, and the Iranians were never seriously threatened from then on. “We have a completely different team here," said Iran head coach Veselin Matic, who also drew 10 points each from Javad Davari and Aren Davoud. “The Philippine team is a very good team. We just shot well from the three-point area." Iran was 10-of-28 from the rainbow area while the Philippine team was 5-of-16. Kelly Williams, one of the three PBA players loaned to Smart Gilas, added 8 points and 13 rebounds for the Pinoys, who will face Qatar Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. also at the Huangpu Gynasium. The Iranians are playing here minus NBA player Hamed Haddadi and Samad Nikkah Bahrami. Haddadi, the 7-foot-3 center of the Memphis Grizzlies, wasn’t allowed by his NBA squad to play in the Asian Games. Bahrami, on the other hand, was in uniform, but didn’t suit up owing to an injured knee. - RCJ/KY/OMG, GMANews.TV