Teen Gilas upsets Iran to earn Final Four berth

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines leaned on a balanced attack as it overpowered a fancied Iran with a vengeful 79-52 rout to barge into the semifinals of the third FIBA-Asia Under-16 Championship in Tehran, Iran Wednesday night.

Ateneo's Jolo Mendoza paced the Nationals with 16 points while fellow Atenean Mike Nieto, Hope Christian's Jolo Go, UP's  Paul Desiderio and La Salle-Greenhills' Carlo Abadeza chipped in 13, 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The win assured the Filipinos that they will match the fourth place finish of their predecessors in the 2009 inaugural tilt in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and in 2011 in Nha Thran, Vietnam.

It was also a sweet win by the Filipinos as they avenged their 83-73 overtime loss the Iranians in the bronze medal match in the meet’s first edition four years ago in Malaysia.

Most importantly, the Phl moved one triumph away from clinching one of the three berths in the 2014 FIBA World Under-17 Championship slated from June 26 to July 6 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which will be unprecedented since the country never made the top three of the biennial meet.

And coach Jamike Jarin's charges will have two chances to accomplish the rare feat as they tangle with Chinese Taipei, the Phl's first round tormentors which edged back upset-conscious Bahrain, 70-67, that arranged the re-match.

The match was being played at press time.

The other semifinalist were reigning two-time champion China, which overwhelmed Kazahstan, 102-75, and Japan, which humbled South Korea, 75-71.

The Filipinos finished atop Group F and gained the top seeding going into the playoff phase with a 4-1 (win-loss) record but their lone setback came at the expense of the Taiwanese, 90-95, in the first round.

Now its payback time.

Jarin said their inspiration is the Gilas Pilipinas team that finished second in the 27th FIBA-Asia Championship at the MOA Arena last August and qualified in the FIBA World Cup in Spain next year.

“That performance has inspired the entire Filipino basketball community,” the 43-year-old Jarin, a former multi-titled coach of Ateneo's high school squad, told FIBA-Asia's official website, www.fibaasia.net recently.

“Firstly, it (the Manila performance) has instilled the belief in us that given the right hard work, Philippine teams can achieve in FIBA Asia competitions. For starters, all Filipinos think the game we play is the best in the world.

"Sometimes the reality when it comes to playing in FIBA Asia competitions is completely different. Talent-wise Philippines is second to none. It’s in the approach that we had suffered in the past. But now with this success at Manila and the team going to the World Championship, there’s a sense of euphoria all round,” he added.