Gilas Pilipinas unleashed a blazing run in crunch time to outplay Iran, 68-56. They completed a two-game sweep of the fourth window of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 2027 World Cup Asia qualifiers on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Just two days after a close 82-81 win over Jordan, the nationals delivered a 14-2 run led by Dwight Ramos and AJ Edu in the last seven minutes to secure back-to-back wins in the window, improving their win-loss record to 4-4 in Group E.
‘I am almost lost for words. It is really unusual for me, but I’m extremely happy. I am the happiest man in the world right now with these two victories here after the fourth window,’ Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone said during the post-game press conference along with Kai Sotto.
Tied at 54-all with 7:02 to go, Gilas closed out the last seven minutes with a crippling 14-2 run to peg the final score.
Ramos fired 16 points along with seven rebounds and two steals while Juan Gomez de Liaño also scored 16 points, and Kai Sotto – the biggest equalizer in the fourth window – rocked up 13 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and had three assists.
AJ Edu had eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while June Mar Fajardo in probably his retirement game after 13 years, came up with six points and two rebounds in seven minutes.
Just like their game against Jordan, Gilas had a slow start against Iran, trailing 7-18 after the first quarter. But the Philippines came up scorching in the second quarter, uncorking a 29-16 scoring burst heading to the halftime break with the lead, 36-34.
The two victories were also sweeter to remember as Gilas played with an all-Filipino lineup without naturalized Justin Brownlee, who is still recovering from injuries in the United States.
Prior to Gilas game, Iran just lost narrowly to New Zealand, 91-93, last Friday for two straight beatings that gave them a 5-3 win-loss slate similar to Jordan in Group E. Australia stays as undefeated solo leader with an 8-0 record, followed by New Zealand with 6-2 slate.
Iran’s playmaker Mobin Sheikhi was the only Iranian who scored in double figures with 21 points.