Gilas Pilipinas bows to Iran in Tehran

The Philippines displayed gallant effort before falling short, 81-73, against Asian powerhouse Iran on Thursday in Tehran.

Taking full advantage of the absence of Hamed Haddadi for most of the game, a hastily-assembled Gilas Pilipinas squad kept the game close until the fourth period, when the Iranians finally broke away.

Playing its first FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying game under coach Yeng Guiao, the Philippines trailed by just four points before Iran unleashed a 9-2 run to take a 77-66 lead with 2:48 remaining.

Gilas, which shot a miserable 5-of-28 clip (18 percent) from the three-point line, could not take advantage of Iranian turnovers to surrender the game.

The Philippines will have little time to lick its wounds as it flies back to Manila for its next matchup against Qatar on Monday.

Christian Standhardinger carried the fight for the Philippines with 30 points and 11 rebounds. No other Pinoy player finished in double-figures. —JST, GMA News