Iran tramples on Gilas 78-70 in FIBA World Cup Qualifier

Christian Standhardinger of Gilas Pilipinas goes up for a shot against Iran during their 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifier game at the Mall of Asia Arena on Monday, Dec. 3. The Philippines seemed headed to victory until Iran made succeeding points within the last minutes to seal the win 78-70. FIBA

MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas struggled against the huge fourth-quarter run of Iran to suffer a 70-78 defeat in the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifier on Monday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Gilas was up 60-52 midway in the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer by Beau Belga before surrendering to Iran’s 8-0 scoring run behind Mohammad Jamshidijafarabadi for the scores to tie at 60-all.

Iran further surged to a 67-62 advantage after 5 straight points from Jamshidijafarabadi but Gilas took the lead anew 70-69 on a triple by Jayson Castro and an inside hit by June Mar Fajardo.

But that was the last stand of the Philippines as the Iranians went on a 9-0 run on back-to-back hits by Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi and Jamshidijafarabadi and free throws by Yakhchalidehkordi to seal the win.

Jamshidijafarabadi, who previously played for Meralco Bolts in the PBA, finished with 26 points, while Yakhchalidehkordi added 21 markers for Iran, which eked out the victory despite missing four veterans led by the 7-foot-2 center Hamed Haddadi.

Gilas had a strong start with early conversions from Marcio Lassiter and Christian Standhardinger but Iran kept the gap small until it came to within 35-39 at the half.

Scoring went slow in the third period, with Castro carrying the fight for the Philippines toward a 49-46 lead. Iran rallied to within a basket but conversions from Fajardo and Standhardinger allowed Gilas to snag a 54-50 lead.

Castro, who just returned from a three-game FIBA suspension, led the way with 19 points while Standhardinger and Lassiter added 17 and 12 points, respectively, for the Philippine side.

The defeat relegated Gilas to the fourth spot in their group with a 5-5 win-loss slate as Japan surged to the third (6-4) by virtue of its 86-70 victory over Kazakhstan on the same day.

Gilas Pilipinas must win its two next on-the-road matches – against Qatar on Feb. 21 and Kazakhstan on Feb. 24 – to stay alive in the World Cup race./PN

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