Gilas nears elimination, bows to Iran in FIBA Cup

Smart-Gilas Pilipinas got its running game going for the third straight game in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Doha, Qatar.

But speed wasn’t enough to offset the more superior, bigger and stronger line up of defending champion Mahram-Iran, which handed the Filipinos their third straight defeat with a clinical 86-72 triumph Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in Manila) here at the Al Gharaffa Stadium.






Jackson Vroman, last year’s Most Valuable Player of the tournament, scattered 28 points and made life more miserable for the Filipinos with his strong inside game.

Vroman, an NBA veteran, and another American import, seven-footer Loren Woods, who contributed 20 markers, proved to be too much for the Filipinos to handle.

The national team aspirants absorbed their third straight defeat and remained winless in the tournament. They are tied with Iraq’s Duhok squad (0-3), which they will face in Wednesday’s (Thursday in Manila) knockout encounter.

Despite losing to Mahram, the Filipinos were able to hold their own in some stretches.

They even led by two, 28-26, on import Milan Vucicevic’s back-to-back baskets early in the second period, until the Iranians used their size advantage to the hilt with Vroman combining with Kaveh Nourafza and Hamed Afagh, who contributed 16 points, in a 10-0 spurt that gaveMahram-Iran a 36-28 lead.

Halftime ended with the Filipinos trailing by only five, 33-38.

“It was a fantastic experience for the boys to play such a tough and tested opposition," said Smart-Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, who drew 13 points from Mark Barroca and 11 markers from Mac Barracael.

If there’s one positive sign for the Filipinos, it’s their vaunted transition that posed a big threat to the Iranians.

“These things happen in deep competitions like this, especially against a speedy team like Smart-Gilas," said Samad Nikkah.

The Iranians posted their third straight win to gain a share of the lead with host Al Rayyan-Qatar, which routed Astana Tigers of Kazakhstan, 86-65.

Al Rayyan and Mahram clash for solo leadership Wednesday.

In Group B, Al Riyadi of Lebanon had to survive repeated uprising by Applied Science University of Jordan before escaping with a 73-72 win to stay unbeaten after three games. - Rey Joble, GMANews.TV