Gilas fends off late rally from Iran in tune-up match

Gilas Pilipinas got the challenge it needed, weathering a late rally by Iran, 81-70, in a tuneup Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Philippines led majority of the game and even took a 23-point lead in the third quarter before using a 9-0 spurt spearheaded by naturalized center Andray Blatche to close out the Iranians, who were without two of their stars in center Hamed Haddadi and forward Arsalan Kazemi.

“I thought offensively we were more cohesive. We’re getting closer to knowing who’s the right guys at the right spots at the right time. That’s a growing issue for us,” said Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin. “I thought overall our defense was pretty good. It’s much better than in the scrimmage. our defense on ball-screens was much better.

“While our rebounding wasn’t good, it was much better than the other day when Iran just annihilated us on the boards in the scrimmage. Those areas, we addressed them before the game and I think we were better. Still a long way to go.”

Iran came within two, 72-70, before the finishing kick from the Filipinos.

Blatche finished with game-highs 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Ryan Reyes, Terrence Romeo and Japeth Aguilar scored 12 points each while Gabe Norwood was scoreless but was a plus-22 in nearly 24 minutes of action for Gilas.

The Philippine team expected a hotly contested game,but it wasn’t until the final five minutes where Iran showed up.

Gilas shot itself in the foot by getting complacent after taking a 67-44 lead late in the third period.

There was a lot of standing around on the offensive end for Gilas when they led comfortably while the team’s defensive intensity took a dip that also paved the way for Iran’s comeback.

Fortunately for the Philippine team, there was urgency on the players’ part as Iran threatened.

Following a basket by LA Tenorio, Blatche converted on a three-point play while Ray Parks and Romeo made four free throws in the final 2:10.

“Guys made plays, and that’s important to see in big moments in big games, guys making plays. Alex Compton said to me when Iran cut it to two, ‘Settle down, this is good for us’ and he was right,” Baldwin said, referring to his assistant coach Alex Compton. “It’s better that we have that situation than a 20-point blowout where we don’t learn anything in the end of the game. Alex was right, we need those scenarios.”

The Nationals leave for Greece on Friday for a three-week training camp in Europe as part of its Fiba Olympic qualifying tournament buildup.

The 7-foot-2 Haddadi did not travel with the team to Manila due to personal reasons while Kazemi, the first Iranian player to be drafted in the NBA, was only a spectator during the two tuneups Iran and Gilas played.

Also missing in action for the Iranians were veteran standouts Nikkhah Bahrami and Mehdi Kamrani, who were left from the national team this year, as per Iran’s German coach Dirk Bauermann.