Guiao: Playing Iran in Tehran a 'taller order'

MANILA, Philippines — Yeng Guiao is staring at yet another gargantuan task.

After hastily assembling and menotring a team to compete in the 2018 Asian Games, Guiao is set to commandeer another Philippine squad through the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers second round which resumes today in Tehran, Iran.

And by a gargantuan task, Guiao likely probably meant it both literally and figuratively.

Guiao and company are expected to put up a decent fight against the much bigger Iranians when they lock horns tonight at the Azady Gym in their opponents’ capital.

“I’ve said this before, you play Iran anywehere, it’s going to be a tall order for you to beat them. But if you play them in Iran, that’s even a taller order,” he noted.

“It’s going to be an issue of preparation and issue of familiarity because this is not the team that we brought to the Asian Games plus it’s not also the core of [Rain or Shine] so magiiba ‘yung core nito — ‘yung character, ‘yung players, and we only [had over] one week or so to whip up a good team so we can be competitive,” the tough-talking but equally beloved tactician said.

The Iranians are ranked 25th in the global hoops rankings, while the Filipinos lag behind by five spots. The former squad is also enjoying a 5-1 win-loss card going into this round compared to the latter’s 4-2 record.

But if it’s any consolation, this current edition of the two national teams does not display much of a disparity when it comes to height. The Iranians stand at an average of 6-foot-6, while the Nationals, 6-foot-5.

It is worth noting, thought, that we have an older squad with a norm of 31 years old against Iran’s 28.

But Guiao is optimisitc. After all, he will be enjoying a luxury of talent as the current iteration of Team Pilipinas now flaunts a mix of highly-touted newcomers and grizzled veterans.

“I’m hopeful kasi sabi ko nga, sa Asian Games we are very decent despite the limitaions, so we’re hoping we could also put up a good fight against Iran despite the same limitations, the same problems,” Guiao noted.

The Philippines and Iran lock horns at 8:30 p.m., Manila time.