MANILA, Philippines — For over three quarters, Team Philippines mounted a gallant and equally methodical stand in keeping their foes within reach in Thursday night's FIBA World Cup Asian qualifying game in Tehran, Iran.
A win could've definitely given the new-look Nationals—who were reeling from heavy-handed FIBA sanctions, an unextraordinary Asian Games outing, and a change in leadership—a big morale boost.
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Let's examine the numbers that shaped the match's outcome as we wait for the home game against Qatar this Monday.
9
The disparity between Iran and the Philippines in rebounds. The hosts, despite not fielding 7-foot-2 star Hamed Haddadi for 39 minutes, still managed to carve up an edge (45-36) taking care of the boards.
20
The game featured this number of lead changes. For a team that was just assembled in a week’s notice, the Filipinos actually mounted a commendable performance against the higher-ranked Iranians.
5
The global gap between the two teams. Despite having appeared in a lot more FIBA-sanctioned tournaments in the past, the Philippines sits only at the 30th spot, behind the 25th-ranked Iran in FIBA’s worldwide rankings.
1 and 2
Having only lost once, the Iranians were riding on a five-game win streak before taking on the Philippines at their home turf. The Filipinos, on the other hand, were nursing a black-eye brought by the hubris of July 2’s incident and a loss to the Aussies — their second defeat going into the tussle last Thursday.
30
Christian Standhardinger seemed to picked up where he left off at the Asiad, delivering another efficient double-double of 30 points and 12 rebounds.
3 to 1
Standhardinger’s commendable scoring—the only double-digit scoring showing for the Filipinos—was negated by three of Iran’s players: Mohammadsamad Nik Khahbahrami tallied 21 points to lead his team, Sajjad Mashayekhi chimed in 19 more to go with Arsalan Kazemi Naeini’s 11.
1
National team newcomer Alex Cabagnot, and Gilas pioneer Marcio Lassiter, who are known for their smooth strokes at the Philippine Basketball Association, were both 1-for-7 from deep against the Iranians.
18
The Iranians committed four more turnovers compared to the Filipinos’ total of 14 during the match. But what the hosts botched in playmaking, they made up in their shooting when it mattered the most: the payoff period.
1,083
It’s a little over a thousand days since the Filipinos have defeated the Iranians in a basketball game at a global stage. The last time the Nationals were able to carve out a win, Tab Baldwin was at the helm and the squad was referred to as Gilas Pilipinas. This was during the FIBA Asia Championship in 2015 where the Philippines lost to the mighty China.
3
Both teams will enjoy three days worth of break and preparation before taking on new opponents in the second round of the Asian contest. The Philippines will shoot for a rebound win against the Qataris on Monday while the Iranians will try to keep their hot roll steaming when they collide onto the retooled Akatsuki Five of Japan.