MANILA, Philippines - Unbeaten in four games and still with plenty to show, Iran seems to have a lock on one of the three slots to the 2014 World Championship in Spain.
But the coach of the Iranian team, Mehmed Becirovic of Slovenia, is not making any guarantee in this 27th FIBA-Asia Championship.
“We must be focused on the next games. We must be very cautions now. We must continue to play in a nice way,†said Becirovic.
The Iranians, FIBA-Asia champions in 2007 and 2009, scored their fourth straight win yesterday by crushing India, 102-58.
Against India, they led by as many as 46 points. The rest is history.
Iran heads Group F in the second round and is bracketed with Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Bahrain and India. In Group E are Chinese-Taipei, Jordan, Japan, Qatar, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Wherever they go, whether in the playing venue, the hotel lobby or the nearby malls, the Iranians have a bullseye on their backs.
“There are still a lot of good opponents waiting for us like Philippines, Kazakhstan, Chinese-Taipei,†said Becirovic.
He said the Philippines is no pushover.
“The Philippines is a very good team. They play with a lot of energy. They play very fast basketball. And the crowd helps in this type of basketball.
“They are very good and dangerous,†he added.
“We are only good as long as my players follow the instructions of the coaching staff. If they start to play by themselves then we can be broken,†he said.
Iran, behind Hamed Hadadi, Sahmad Bahrami and Mahdi Kamrany, has never been in trouble so far in this 15-team tournament .
And the Slovenian coach said they have something more to offer.
“We can still do better,†he said.
Iran started off with a 90-point victory over Malaysia and followed it up with convincing wins against South Korea and China, and now India.
“I’m not watching the margin how we win. I’m watching the mistakes that we make,†he told a couple of Pinoy scribes during a short interview.
“What we do in the preparations is what I want to see. I tell them just play the way we practice. I don’t ask for much more,†he said.
No worries so far for Iran.