Gilas, Iran meet in joint workout
Gilas Pilipinas and Iran hold a closed-door joint workout at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong this afternoon before slugging it out in a tuneup match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow night.
The Filipinos and the Iranians, among the elite Asian teams with eight crowns between themselves in FIBA Asia championships, clash at 7 p.m. at the Big Dome in a friendly where both hope to learn lessons that can boost their buildup for the coming FIBA Olympic qualifying tourneys.
“The Hoops Center session is not a formal 40-minute game. But on Wednesday, pride will be at stake there,” said Gilas team manager Butch Antonio, hinting at a tough matchup between the two teams that clashed for the crown in the 2013 Asian joust at the MOA Arena.
For Gilas Pilipinas, it’s the kickoff of a series of warm-up games in preparation for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the MOA Arena on July 5-10.
The Iranians, meanwhile, are gearing up for their own shot at the Rio Olympics over in Turin, Italy from July 4-9.
The Iranians pitching a training camp in Manila says a lot on their high regard to Philippine basketball. From Manila, they next train in China then in Latvia before proceeding to the Turin meet.
Team Phl trounced Iran, 87-73, in its last meeting over in Changsha, China during the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship.
Team Iran is now in transition period, elevating a number of players from its youth team following stinging setbacks in the 2014 Asian Games and in the 2015 FIBA Asia. “I envy their program,” said Antonio. With the end of the dominant run in the region by Nikkhah Bahrami, Mahdi Kamrani and Hamed Afagh, now come their replacements in young players Mohammad Yousof, Navid Reaeifar, Ali Allahverdi and Salar Monji, key players of the Iran squad in the 2015 U19 World Championship.
“Bahrami and Kamrani also came from an Iranian program from the youth squad. They reigned supreme in Asia for a long while,” noted Antonio. “I can only wish that we do the same here.”
Seven-foot-two center Hamed Haddadi is in Iran’s provisional 23-man list for the Turin OQT but couldn’t join the team in Manila due to a personal problem.
The Iranians look forward to their matchup with the Filipinos.
“It’s a core part of our preparation. And to be able to play here in the Philippines against such a good team, such a well- coached team, is going to be really good for our young players,” said Dirk Bauermann, the German coach of Team Iran.
“Everybody’s going to try to win and leave his best game on the floor, We have the highest respect for Gilas and coach Tab (Baldwin), and we know it’s going to be a very difficult game for us. But we have a young group of guys that have played really well so far and that have jelled and exceeded expectation,” Bauermann also said.