TAIPEI—Coming out with a different game face and the energy to back it up, Smart Gilas-Pilipinas pulled off a 77-75 upset of powerhouse Iran on Friday that put the Filipinos back in the 34th Jones Cup title hunt at Taipei Physical Education College gym here.
Marcus Douthit was a man on a mission, and Gabe Norwood continued his brilliance on both ends as they led a tough Philippine stand that frustrated Iran’s foremost forward, Samad Bahrami.
The Filipinos tugged at the coattails of the Iranians in the first half, broke away in the third, and then held off a furious Iranian rally.
Douthit fired 22 points and had 10 rebounds and Norwood had 17 and nine to lead the Filipinos, who bounced back from a lethargic outing against Lebanon and rose to 5-1, in a tie with the defending champion Iranians and the United States.
The Americans blasted Jordan, 77-66.
“Today was a great way for us to bounce back, not just for ourselves, but (for) the country (which) was a bit down (after a 72-91 loss to Lebanon on Thursday),” Norwood said.
“We stayed positive, aggressive.”
Norwood hit a triple with 71 seconds to go, and Douthit had a crucial dunk with 31.5 left for a five-point lead, enabling the Filipinos to survive a whirlwind finish to the game by Bahrami.
Bahrami, who minced no words in blasting the organizers, did not give even an ounce of credit to the Philippine team.
“How can one team which lost to Lebanon by 30 (actually 19), come back to beat Iran which beat Lebanon by 20,” Bahrami said as he hit out at the referees’ “very low level of competence.”
“The winner of this game is not true.”
The Iranians caught a bad call with just over two minutes left when officials awarded the ball to the Philippines as Douthit laid on the floor after being hit in the testicles.
To win the championship for the third time, the Philippines would need to beat Taipei-A on Saturday at 7 p.m. and then the United States on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Iran could still retain the title if it beats South Korea and then Jordan and the Philippines split their remaining assignments.
Douthit despised the way the Iranians celebrated after beating the Philippines last year.
“Tonight, we showed the heart of our team and how far we can go,” Douthit said. “It feels good for me to finally beat Iran. I was pissed about how they celebrated last year.”
After barely beating the original Smart Gilas team last year, the Iranians lined up like bowling pins on the floor with one player mimicking a heave of a bowling ball before the players dropped one by one.
The scores:
SMART GILAS-PILIPINAS 77—Douthit 22, Norwood 17, Chan 12, Mercado 8, David 8, Fonacier 6, De Ocampo 2, Tenorio 0, Villanueva 0, Thoss 0.
IRAN 75—Bahrami 26, Kardoust 16, sahakian 12, Afagh 8, Kamrani 5, Aslani 4, Nabipour 4, Atashi 0, Hamed 0.
Quarters: 21-19, 33-33, 58-49, 77-75