PASAY CITY (Philippines) - The Philippines completed a 2-game sweep of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers' fourth window following a convincing 68-56 victory over Iran on Sunday night.
Similar to their eventual conquest of Jordan last Friday, Gilas bucked a slow start before putting together a strong finish behind a 14-2 closeout to not only go .500 in Group E but to flip the script against Team Melli.
Avenged
The Filipino dribblers lost to their West Asian counterparts in the last 2 times they battled in the FIBA stage, including a 78-70 result back in the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers' Second Round back in November of 2018.
That loss actually happened at the SM Mall of Asia Arena as well, the exact same venue where the 'Puso'-era of Jimmy Alapag & Co. bowed to the Iranians in the Final of the then-FIBA Asia Championship in 2013.
But the present-day squad made sure that Iran won't win for a third successive time, relying on a balanced attack to deny their tormentors en route to winning their second straight after a 4-game losing slide.
"I'm lost for words. That's really unusual for me. I'm not usually at a loss for words but I'm extremely happy," said head coach Tim Cone, in awe of how they pulled it off despite the adversities coming into the window.
"Kai just asked me walking in, 'Are you now the happiest guy in the world?' Because I said earlier, 'If we can win these two games, I'll be the happiest guy in the world.' Right now, I'm the happiest guy in the world."
Young stars shine anew
Heroes were aplenty in the rousing triumph, with Dwight Ramos and Juan Gomez de Liano showing the way with 16 points apiece and 10 rebounds combined as the tandem spearheaded their solid fourth-quarter attack.
Also part of that rally was Kai Sotto, who went on to notch another double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds as the troika starred for a team that got the job done in Window 4 despite missing Justin Brownlee.
AJ Edu contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds plus 3 of the team's 4 blocks, once again delivering the goods - and proving how competitive the team could be when he and Sotto spearhead at the frontcourt.
"These are two really, really high-level international teams, Iran especially. I read something in [the] FIBA [website] yesterday that this is only the third win we've had against them in the last 13 games," reflected Cone.
And we were able to do it all-Filipino.
For Abai
Making this victory all the more special was that the Philippines were able to give June Mar Fajardo the sendoff he deserves. as the veteran big man called it quits on his international career that lasted for 13 years.
In his last dance with Gilas, the 3-time World Cup campaigner logged 7 minutes and finished with 6 points and 2 rebounds, serving as the game-changer in the second as Gilas rose back from down 18-7 in the first.
"That was huge," said Cone of the 9-time PBA MVP's spark. "When he got the ball and made that turn and landed that jump hook, the crowd went absolutely crazy. And that kinda gave us that lift going into halftime."
"That really elevated the crowd and elevated the whole team," he added. "We all got excited about that. And he did a good job defensively, too. They tried to attack him a few times, and he did a good job defensively."
Mobin Sheiki, on the other hand, finished with 21 points to lead Iran, serving as the lone bright spot for a team that went 0-2 in a window for the first time in the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers after going 5-1 in Round 1.
The spitfire guard caused problems to the home team by going 5-of-8 from beyond the arc but he and the rest of the squad fizzled out after Mohammad Amini tied things up at 54-all through a drive with 7:18 left.
Ramos put Gilas ahead for good with a triple, Sotto threw it down to clean up Edu's miss, before the former banked in a tough fallaway jumper for a 7-0 run toward a 61-54 lead approaching the final 4 minutes.
Sheikhi did hit one from the perimeter to stop the bleeding but it would be the visitors' last bucket of the night as Sotto, Edu, and Ramos joined hands for another 7-0 spurt to finish the game with a 12-point win.
FIBA