(Asian Games) PH five eyes solid stand vs Iranians; Injured Aguilar to miss game

GUANGZHOU—Smart Gilas Pilipinas hasn’t beaten reigning Asian champion Iran since the national men’s basketball team of former collegiate standouts was formed. Ending that trend is the target of the national five when it tangles with the Iranians at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday (same time as in Manila) in the second round of the 16th Asian Games tonight at the Huangpu Gymnasium. Coach Rajko Toroman, however, isn’t really concerned about the losing streak. “I don’t intend to do anything special,” said the Serbian mentor. “We just have to run our system.” The Nationals failed to stick to their game plan against Kuwait in the preliminary knockout phase Saturday and almost paid dearly for it. Smart Gilas came from behind to repulse the Kuwaitis, 76-69. “That was our problem against Kuwait,” said Toroman, referring to PBA players Asi Taulava, Sol Mercado and Kelly Williams. “Some players are not yet familiar with the system. “But I believe we will get better and better every game.” But Japeth Aguilar, the 6-foot-9 power forward who missed the game against Kuwait, won’t play against Iran due to a suspected torn ligament in his right knee. The injury came during the national five’s tuneup against the Dongguan Leopards last Thursday, when Aguilar collided with a defender while going for the ball and fell hard on his knee. Aguilar was told to rest after he was brought to the medical facility of the Athletes’ Village for a magnetic resonance imaging procedure. Toroman said the 7-2 Hamed Haddadi will not play but he isn’t sure if the Iranians would field the injured Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, the team’s top scorer. The 6-5 Bahrami, who missed the Fiba World Championship in Turkey two months ago due to a hurting knee, carried Iran’s national flag during the opening ceremony. Haddadi, now playing for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA, was the MVP of Iran’s twin gold-medal victories in the 2007 and 2009 Fiba Asia Championships. “I don’t expect Samad to play for 40 minutes just like before but still he will try,” said Toroman. “He told me he needed surgery, so there’s still doubt that he could play.” Toroman, who coached Iran to the 2007 Asian title and to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said Iran still packed a potent lineup against the Filipinos.