Iran tough nut to crack

NBA journeyman Hamed Haddadi and the rest of the Iranian squad put an emphatic end to the Cinderella-like run of the Philippine men’s basketball team as they once again captured the Fiba Asia championship with an 85-71 win in the winner-take-all final game last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Haddadi, the 7-foot-2 center who last played for the Phoenix Suns, showed that height was indeed might as towered over the Philippine team’s undersized frontline. Haddadi, who was also named tournament MVP, scored29 points and hauled down 16 rebounds.

Without the 6’11 Marcus Douthit guarding the paint, the Filipinos also failed to contain Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, who scored 19 points. Point guard Mahdi Kamrany added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists as Iran cruised to victory.

Haddadi bannered the Mythical Five which included his compatriot Oshin Sahakian, South Korea’s Kim Mingoo, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chi-Chieh and the Jayson (Castro) Williams of the Philippines.

The loss did little to take the luster away from the Gilas Pilipinas’ silver medal finish. Prior to the game, the Filipinos had already booked a slot to the 2014 Fiba World Cup in Spain after winning against arch-nemesis South Korea, 86-79, in the semi-finals Saturday night.

South Korea booked the last ticket to the World Championships after winning the bronze medal by beating Chinese Taipei, 75-57, earlier in the evening (see separate story).

Gilas Pilipinas fought valiantly as the all-local squad succeeded in keeping the Iranians close at the end of the first half, 34-35.

Iran actually tried to put the game away in the second period as they built a 32-23 lead but the Nationals relented and uncorked an 11-3 run that was capped by a three-pointer by Larry Fonacier.

Gilas momentarily took the lead, 36-35, after two freethrows by Castro but that would prove to be its last taste of the lead as the Iranians took control of the game with a huge 10-0 blast that was orchestrated by Kamrani, Bahrami and Haddadi for a 45-36 lead.

Kamrani punctuated Iran’s stellar third period showing by sinking a three-point bomb from the corner as time expired for a 62-53 lead heading to the last period.

The hosts tried to keep in step, but were just overwhelmed by their taller and heftier opponents as Bahrami made two freethrows after an unsportsmanlike foul called on Gary David, and Haddadi emphatically slammed the ball home for a 78-63 lead with 2:48 remaining.

Castro led the Philippines with 18 points while Jimmy Alapag added 13. They were the only two players to reach double figures for the Nationals.

The Nationals made a living from beyond the arc since they struggled to score in the shaded area due to the presence of Iran’s giants led by Haddadi.

But Gilas’ three pointers failed to connect and the Filipinos this time. The Philippines shot 10-of-34 from beyond the arc but failed to hit important shots in the endgame.

The Iranians shot just 3-of-17 from the three-point line, but made up for that inside, where they were 27-of-44. All in all, the Iranians shot 30-of-61 from the field for a 49.2 percent clip. The Filipinos were 22-of-69 (31.9 percent) from the field.

Yesterday’s crowd at the packed MOA Arena included some noted personalities including President Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay, and world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

BOX SCORES:

Iran 85 – Haddadi 29, Bahrami 19, Kamrani 15, Sahakian 12, Afagh 4, Davaoudichegani 2, Sohrabnejad 2, Kardoust 2, Arghavan 0.

Philippines 71 – Castro 18, Alapag 13, De Ocampo 9, Tenorio 8, Chan 7, Aguilar 4, Norwood 3, Fonacier 3, Pingris 3, David 2, Fajardo 1. /Jonas Panerio, Correspondent