MANILA, Philippines – Another foe. Another promise by a visiting coach. Another eerie sense of déjà vu.
For all the hot shooting of Marcio Lassiter, the lane incursions of Christian Standhardinger and the lay-ups of Jason Castro, Iran answered every run and then some.
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The result was another disappointing, 70-78 loss by the Philippines to Iran, the Nationals’ second of this crucial home stand that stalled their drive for a spot in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Before the game, Iran coach Mehran Shahintab promised a quality game by his side despite missing center Hamed Haddadi and do-it-all forward Sammad Nikkhah Bahrami.
Last November 30, Kazakhstan head coach Renatas Kurilionokas promised a different result from their Asian Games blowout loss to the Philippines.
The Philippines was in a good position to put away Iran. Center Rouzbeh Arghavan had fouled out after a sterling relief effort of starting slotman Meisam Mirzaeita, who also battled foul trouble. June Mar Fajardo scored on an undergoal stab for a 70-69 lead with 1:05 left to play.
But Iran’s Benham Yakchali scored on a pull-up jumper, after which he assisted teammate Mohammad Jamshidi on a fast-break layup to give Iran a 73-70 lead with 26 seconds left.
Mohammad Hassan then picked off a poor inbound pass by Scottie Thompson, after which Yakchali converted a free throw. Yakchali continued his endgame heroics when he stole the ball from Troy Rosario and Jamshidi, a former Meralco Bolts import, drove hard for a layup for the game’s final points.
The duo of Jamshidi and Yakchali combined for 47 points to put away the Philippines in front of a stunned Mall of Asia Arena crowd that witnessed two painful and disappoint losses in four days.
Kazakhstan pulled the rug from under the home team with a stunning 92-88 win last Friday as the Philippine crumbled in the endgame.
Now the two losses coupled with Japan’s 86-70 win over Kazakhstan saw the Philippines tumble from third spot to fourth in the Group F standings with an even 5-5 record. Iran moved up to 7-3 while Japan got a leg up, 6-4 in the race for the last of the three slots available for Group F nations.
“It was a disappointing loss because for the second time in four days, we got stung when we had a chance to win,” said Philippines head coach Yeng Guiao. “I feel that our lack of maturity hurt us as well as our unfamiliarity with the international game and how it is called.”
Guiao though did not offer that as an excuse. “The responsibility is all mine. I said that if we could not take the team to the World Cup then I can walk away.”
Guiao also pointed out the 33 free throws they gave up to Iran (which converted 23 of them). In contrast, the Philippines only shot 11-18.
Early in the game, Lassiter was on target while Standhardinger twisted his way to 17 points and eight boards. But Iranian center Mirzaeita was bullish inside as he scored eight first quarter points.
Arghavan, one of the heroes of Iran during their win against the Philippines in Tehran, once more gave Iran a huge lift with eight points, three rebounds, and three blocks off the bench.
“It is a big win for us considering we lost big to Australia,” said Shahintab. “This puts us back on track to play for the World Cup. We are not yet done, but this is a big win.”
Jamshidi scored 26 points while Yakchali added 21. Mirzaeita added 11 points and eight caroms.
For the Philippines, Castro topscored with 19 points while Standhardinger added 17. Lassiter finished with 12 points before fouling out.