Iran sigurado na sa top-3?

MANILA, Philippines -  Wala pang talo sa 4-games ang Iran at marami pa itong ilalabas.

Sa tingin ng marami, sigurado na ang Iran sa isa sa tatlong slots sa 2014 FIBA-World Championships na pinaglalabanan sa kasalukuyang FIBA-Asia Championships sa MOA Arena sa Pasay City.

Ngunit ayaw pakasiguro ng coach ng Iran na si Mehmed Becirovic ng Slovenia.

“We must be focused on the next games. We must be very cautious now. We must continue to play in a nice way,” sabi ni Becirovic.

Umiskor ang Iranians, FIBA-Asia champions noong 2007 at 2009,  ng kanilang ikaapat na sunod na panalo kahapon matapos igupo ang India, 102-58.

Kontra sa India, lumamang sila ng hanggang 46 points tungo sa dominanteng tagumpay.

Nangunguna ang Iran sa Group F sa second round ng torneo at kagrupo nila ang Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Bahrain at India. Nasa Group E ang Chinese-Taipei, Jordan, Japan, Qatar, Hong Kong at Philippines.

Saan man sila magpunta, mayroong bulls-eye sa kanilang mga likuran.

 â€œThere are still a lot of good opponents waiting for us like Philippines, Kazakhstan, Chinese-Taipei. The Philippines is a very good team. They play with a lot of energy. They play very fast basketball. And the crowd helps in this type of basketball. They are very good and dangerous,” sabi ni Becirovic.

“We are only good as long as my players follow the instructions of the coaching staff. If they start to play by themselves then we can be broken.”

Hindi pa nakakatanggap ng hamon ang Iran na pinangungunahan nina Hamed Hadadi, Sahmad Bahrami at Mahdi Kamrany sa 15-team tournament na ito.

At ayon sa Slovenian coach, mayroon pa silang ilalabas. “We can still do better,” aniya.

Binuksan ng Iran ang kampanya sa pamamagitan ng 90-point victory kontra sa Malaysia kasunod ang kumbinsidong panalo sa South Korea at China at kahapon ay kontra sa India.

“I’m not watching the margin how we win. I’m watching the mistakes that we make,” sabi ni Becirovic. “What we do in the preparations is what I want to see. I tell them just play the way we practice. I don’t ask for much more.”