The Philippine national men’s basketball once again fell short against regional powerhouse Iran, 76-55, as their campaign came to an abrupt end in the semifinals of the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, China.
Iran, which also stopped Gilas Pilipinas in the finals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships in Manila, moved into the finals of the tournament after dominating in a game where they led by as much 21 points.
Mohammad Jamshidi scored 19 points while 18-year-old Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi added 18, with 13 coming in the third period, to lead the dominating Iran side to another victory.
Gilas veterans Ranidel De Ocampo, Gary David and LA Tenorio each scored 11 for the Philippines, which was held scoreless for the last three minutes of the game.
Naturalized center Marcus Douthit finished with just six points on 2-for-13 shooting alongside eight rebounds while going head-to-head with Iran’s NBA veteran Hamed Haddadi, who posted 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
With the win, Iran advanced to the FIBA Asia Cup finals, where they will face either tournament hosts China or Chinese Taipei.
Iran forward Oshin Sahakian led the way in the first, where he scored all seven of his points, to lead the team to a 20-13 advantage at the end of the opening period.
In the second, it was Jamshidi taking over for Iran. He finished with 10 points in the quarter, including five points in the final stretch as the Iranians outscored the Filipinos 8-2 to close out the half with a 39-28 lead.
It was all Yakhchalidehkordi in the third, though, as they youngster showed what he could do.
With his team up 44-35, the former youth team star scored 10 points in an 11-0 blast for Iran that pushed their lead up to a high of 20 points, 55-35.
David tried to restore some order for Gilas, scoring seven of team’s points in a 9-3 run that got the Philippines back to within 14.
But it was again Yakhchalidehkordi with a three-pointer – his third long-range shot of the quarter – to close things off as Iran led 61-44 heading into the last period.
The Filipinos showed some signs of life when De Ocampo led a 7-1 run that got Gilas to within 13, 66-53, near the midway mark of the quarter.
But Iran took the fight out of the Philippines when Haddadi dunked the ball to cap a 5-0 blast that gave the Asian champions a 73-55 lead with under two minutes to play.
They would score three more points before the final buzzer.
The scores:
Iran (76) – Jamshidi 19, Yakhchalidehkordi 18, Haddadi 11, Mashayekhi 10, Sahakian 7, Zangeneh 5, Lalehzadeh 3, Arghavan 2, Kazemi 1, Kardoust 0.
Iran (76) – Jamshidi 19, Yakhchalidehkordi 18, Haddadi 11, Mashayekhi 10, Sahakian 7, Zangeneh 5, Lalehzadeh 3, Arghavan 2, Kazemi 1, Kardoust 0.
Gilas Pilipinas (55) – De Ocampo 11, Tenorio 11, David 11, Douthit 6, Washington 5, Aguilar 4, Lee 4, Dillinger 3, Fajardo 0, Belga 0, Alas 0, Lanete 0.
Quarterscores: 20-13, 39-28, 61-44, 76-55. (interaksyon)
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