A Tale of Three Title Contenders

MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - Before the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship began, many observers and fans felt that there were three teams that had very good chances of winning the title and, consequently, the continent’s lone outright ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

These teams are defending champions Iran, host country China, and 2013 FIBA Asia Championship bridesmaids Philippines.

Coming into this tournament, all three of those teams certainly had high hopes. All three had deep rosters. Iran had a great mix of tried-and-tested veterans and up-and-coming youngsters. They were fresh from winning the 2015 William Jones Cup and were ripe and ready to defend their crown. China, meanwhile, built a team around superstar big man Yi Jianlian.

Size was paramount for China, as Yi was surrounded by three other seven-footers to form a new generation of the Walking Great Wall. The Philippines, meanwhile, were to be bannered by no less than former NBA player and owner of the CBA’s biggest contract, naturalized player Andray Blatche. With other Asian teams either rebuilding or reeling from a slew of personnel and training setbacks, these three countries were expected to dominate.

At the start of the tourney, however, things didn’t exactly happen the way many people might have expected.

Well, at least that much is true for the Philippines, which absorbed an embarrassing 75-73 loss to FIBA Asia Championship first-timers Palestine. Gilas Pilipinas, coached by the venerable Tab Baldwin, led by as many as 16 points and enjoyed a strong start in this game, but they eased up on the gas pedal a little bit and allowed Palestine to stay within striking distance till late in the game. With the door left ajar, coach Jerry Steele’s wards went on a searing endgame flurry that all but took the wind out of the Filipino sails. The Philippines wanted to make history in this tournament, but I’m sure they did not want to do it with a loss that will ring throughout Asian hoops lore for decades to come.

Iran took to the floor after Palestine’s upset of the Philippines, and, in stark contrast to the Filipinos, the Iranians would hardly allow their foes any breathing room, 86-48. Team Melli fought on pretty even terms opposite Japan in Group A action, but the Iranians opened things up and broke the game open in the second period. The Japanese tried to fight strong with their speed and shooting, but in the end Iran was just too big and too strong. Team Hayabusa couldn’t contain the likes of Oshin Sahakian, Hamed Haddadi, and Mohammad Hassanzadeh, and they paid dearly for it with a lopsided defeat.

Still later in the day, China, eager to do well after the debacle two years ago that saw them finish fifth, wasted to time in dealing Southeast Asian minnow Singapore a crushing blow, 92-42. Veteran Yi Jialian didn’t play much here, scoring 12 points in under 18 minutes, while the supporting cast of Zhai Xiaochuan, Li Gen, and Wang Zhelin did their part in dismantling any chance of Singapore to make things close.

And so we have two emphatic wins and one shocking loss from teams that have been tagged as the main protagonists in vying for that much-coveted title. China and Iran, for sure, are set to continue their winning ways and are, perhaps, destined to meet in the Final, while the Philippines are currently groping for form and will surely hope to bounce back strong.

No matter the results of the first day, it’s clear that these three are still among the strongest teams in the competition, but, at least for now, one of them is in danger of dropping from contender to pretender.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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