MANILA — The Philippines finally ended years of frustration, bringing down long-time tormentor and undefeated defending champion Iran, 87-73, Monday in a second round Group E game of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Changsa, China. The Philippines thus rose to the top of Group E, tying Iran's record of 3 wins and 1 loss and needing one more victory — against India (2-2) Tuesday — to secure the top seeding in the group heading into the quarterfinals. Topping the group is crucial for Gilas Pilipinas since it would avoid a clash with mighty China in the knockout quarterfinal and semifinal stages. Iran suffered its first loss in the tournament after winning its first four games by an average margin of 49 points. The Gilas Pilipinas victory ended a 42-year losing drought against Iran in FIBA Asia. The first and last time the Filipinos defeated the Iranians in a FIBA tournament was way back in the 1973 Asian basketball championship held in Manila. In the 2012 Jones Cup held in Taipei, Gilas Pilipinas edged Iran, 77-75. But from then on, the Iranians have frustrated the Filipinos time and again — until Monday in Changsa, China. Jayson Castro, acknowledged as Asia's best point guard, once again rose to the challenge as he led Gilas with a team-high 26 points on top of three assists and three steals. Naturalized 6'11” center Andray Blatche played his heart out despite an ankle injury he suffered less than 24 hours earlier, banging in 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Twin energizers Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva also played crucial roles in the victory, dishing out 15 and 13 points, respectively. The two new Gilas stars led a fierce assault in the second half that allowed the Filipinos to come back after being down by 10 points. Although Romeo only converted 4 of 11 shots, the dazzling crowd darling drilled three of five shots from beyond the arc, including back-to-back triples to keep Gilas on top, 58-56, at the height of an Iranian rally. The Filipinos boldly engaged the much taller Iranians in a fierce battle right from the start. Gilas took a 17-11 lead after racking up five straight points on a basket by Gabe Norwood and a three-pointer from Castro. Iran regained the lead, 25-22, as Blatche incurred two quick fouls. The Iranians upped their lead to 9, 43-34, as the first half was about to close. However, Ranidel De Ocampo blasted a triple right before the halftime buzzer to cut Iran's lead to six, 43-37. Iran still remained dominant at the start of the third quarter, extending its lead to 10, 47-37. But then just as the Iranians thought they had the game under control, the Filipinos staged a mighty uprising, detonating a 9-0 bomb. Romeo banged in back-to-back triples to give Gilas the lead, 58-57. Romeo scored again on a tough floater followed by baskets from Castro and Abueva as the Filipinos erected a 64-57 lead. The Filipinos then poured it on the tiring and frustrated Iranians, increasing their lead to 14 points, 86-70, with 32 seconds left, as the Filipinos in the crowd and the millions watching the drama unfold on television at home in the Philippines celebrated a historic win. Samad Nikkhah Bahrami led Iran with 21 points while 7'2” giant Hamed Haddadi managed only 10, as he was totally outplayed by Blatche in their matchup. In another Group E game, India defeated Hong Kong 76-71, to keep its quarterfinals hopes alive, while Japan edged Palestine 74-67 and Qatar downed Korea 69-63 intheir Group F encounter. In other results Sunday night: In Group F, China defeated Kazakhstan 75-62 and Jordan beat Qatar 84-73. In classification 13-16 matches, Kuwait defeated Malaysia 83-61 and Chinese-Taipei crushed Singapore 111-65.
