Big target on Iran’s back

MANILA, Philippines - Although China is the host nation, Iran is favored to top the FIBA Asia Championships in Changsha, Hunan, on Sept. 23-Oct. 3 with new German coach Dirk Bauermann in the saddle and 6-6 forward Nikkhah Bahrami back after sitting out the recent Jones Cup.

Iran has won three of the last four FIBA Asia titles, the only skip in 2011 when it lost to Jordan, coached by Tab Baldwin, 88-84, in the knockout quarterfinals. In the 2011 edition, Jordan suffered a 72-64 loss to the Philippines in the second round but got back at Gilas, 75-61, in the semifinals. China survived Jordan, 80-79, in the final and qualified for the 2012 London Olympics as a result. Jordan had the final possession of the game but failed to convert.

No doubt, Iran will remember Baldwin for that bump in 2011. Baldwin remembers Iran, too, and will now lead the Philippine crusade in Changsha. At the Jones Cup last month, Iran gave Baldwin a preview of what to expect and defeated Gilas, 74-65, even without Bahrami. Iran brought a 15-man lineup to Taipei and has since cut veteran Javad Davari, Yonas Lalehzadeh, Farid Haghyeghi and Rouzbeh Arghavan to trim the roster to 12, including Bahrami.

In Changsha, Iran is holding over seven players from the team that took the FIBA Asia crown in Manila two years ago. The returnees are 7-2 Hamed Haddadi, 6-1 Mahdi Kamrani, 6-7 Oshin Sahakian, 6-11 Asghar Kardoust, 6-3 Hamed Afagh, 6-6 Mohammad Jamshidi and Bahrami. The newcomers are 6-9 Mohammad Hassanzadeh, 6-3 Saeid Davarpanah, 6-5 Benham Yakhchali, 6-0 Farid Aslami and 5-11 Jajjad Mashayekhi. The team has an average height of 6-5 and average age of 27.

Iran has swept the last two FIBA Asia Cups in Tokyo in 2012 and Wuhan in 2014. The Philippines was fourth in Tokyo and third in Wuhan after beating China, 80-79, on Paul Lee’s three free throws at the buzzer. At the 2014 FIBA World Cup, both the Philippines and Iran posted a 1-4 record and didn’t make it to the second round. Iran defeated Egypt, 88-73, but lost to Spain, 90-60, Brazil, 79-50, Serbia, 83-70 and France, 81-76.

Bauermann, 57, takes over from Slovenia’s Mehmed Becirovic and brings a lot of international experience to the bench. He coached Germany to the 1994, 2006 and 2010 FIBA World Cups, the 2008 Olympics and the 2005, 2007 and 2011 FIBA Europe Championships. A former Fresno State assistant coach, Bauermann is a four-time German Cup champion and nine-time German league champion coach. He has coached in Belgium, Greece, Germany, Lithuania, Russia and Poland. Iran is his first Asian assignment. NBA star Dirk Nowitzki played for Bauermann at the 2006 FIBA World Cup where Germany finished eighth of 24 and at the 2008 Olympics where Germany finished 10th of 12.

Iran will lean on its vaunted Big Three to book a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Haddadi, Bahrami and Kamrani are the anchors of the Iranian squad. Haddadi, 30, played for Memphis and Phoenix in five NBA seasons up to 2012-13 and has suited up in the Chinese league the last two years. He will play for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the next Chinese season. Bahrami, 32, played for Fujian in the Chinese league in 2013-14 and will see action for Zhejiang Chouzhou Bank this coming season. He attended a Dallas Mavericks mini-camp last June. Kamrani, 33, is the team’s glue guy who keeps everything together. Like Haddadi and Bahrami, Kamrani is a Chinese league veteran and will play for the Chongqing Fly Dragon this campaign.

While Iran’s Big Three remain a dominant force, the team has slowly brought up a younger version. Jamshidi, 24, is the future Bahrami. Mashayekhi, 21, is the new Kamrani and Hassanzadeh, the next Haddadi. Iran is planning long-term and it’s the reason why in Changsha, four players are 24 and below.

At the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships, Haddadi buried Gilas with 10 of 29 points in the fourth period as Iran won, 85-71. The Philippines was down by a point, 35-34, at the half but couldn’t contain Haddadi with naturalized player Marcus Douthit opting to rest a bruised leg. Bahrami hit 19 points and Kamrani 15 to back up Haddadi. Eight players on the Gilas team that year won’t be in Changsha.

Haddadi continued to torment the Philippines with 22 points and 15 rebounds in leading Iran to a 74-65 win at the recent Jones Cup. Once more, the Philippines battled without a naturalized player as Andray Blatche was in the US to attend to a death in the family. Blatche’s absence in the middle was conspicuous as Iran outrebounded Gilas, 40-28, including 16-6 on the offensive end. Iran has never played the Philippines with Blatche so it could be a different story this year.

At the 2012 Jones Cup, Gilas eked out a 77-75 win over Iran. But Iran played without Haddadi. The Philippines was bannered by Douthit, Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, Sol Mercado, Gary David, Larry Fonacier, Ranidel de Ocampo, L. A. Tenorio, Enrico Villanueva and Sonny Thoss. In Changsha, Norwood, De Ocampo and Thoss will be with Gilas in trying to hit the big target on Iran’s back.