GILAS PILIPINAS | VS IRAN | THE PAINT IS A NO-GO ZONE

It feels like Gilas Pilipinas took the path of the New York Knicks in the last two games they played in the FIBA Asia Qualifiers. And I'm not hating on them, especially since they won.

However, as much as we detest how good Mobin Sheikhi was from the three-point area, it feels like Iran had to rely on it OUT OF NECESSITY.

Fact of the matter is, Tim Cone was in his element this game.

Yes, Carl Tamayo got injured in the game against Jordan, but Justin Arana was more of a Plan B based on what Cone was thinking, as his Plan A was to play a tighter rotation.

And while Kevin Quiambao, CJ Perez, and Scottie Thompson didn't have as good a game as they did against Jordan, Juan Gomez de Liano almost canceled out Sheikhi's output.

And then there's the fact that we forgot about Justin Brownlee because we had Kai Sotto and AJ Edu disrupting shots, hauling in boards, and making sure Iran couldn't get anything from the inside.

In fact, Sheikhi's 21 points had to happen for Iran because their next-best scoring output was Mohammad Amini's seven points.

There is no Hamed Haddadi to defend the paint, and these bigs are just plowing through every possession.

Again, Tim Cone knows how to use a twin-tower combination, as we've seen with how he paired Japeth Aguilar with Greg Slaughter and now AJ Edu with Kai Sotto.

Dwight Ramos and Juan Gomez de Liano also came through with insane scoring runs. Ramos came up clutch in the second half, while Juan GDL made up for his previous scoreless night.

We've said that Ramos has been the Scottie Pippen to Brownlee's Jordan in this current Gilas incarnation, and in this game, he held his own.

Meanwhile, it feels like Juan GDL has overtaken RJ Abarrientos on the depth chart because of what he did. Judging by his stats and the intangibles he brings to the table, Juan GDL is probably our most complete player in Tim Cone's point guard rotation.

And I'm not even bringing up the fact that Juan GDL's size and strength give him the ability to play alongside Scottie Thompson, as well as either CJ Perez or Chris Newsome if Cone decides to pair them together.

Anyway, if the situation in the Middle East continues to burden Iran, Jordan, and Syria, then the games will most likely be played on our turf, or at a possible middle ground like Australia or New Zealand.

That said, we have proven to everyone at this point that there will definitely be a part of our population willing to cheer crazily in the stands.

I think the Gilas Pilipinas players love the environment they're playing in because there is somewhat of a college feel to it, and you can see them enjoying everything about it.

Also, I forgot to say this in the Jordan review, but I am happy Gilas has stopped complaining about the calls. Yes, the referees can reverse calls, but I'm happy that the players are locked in on the game.

I actually felt my head getting light in the third quarter, and it wasn't even when we were down by 13 points.

Again, the interior defense of Gilas was so brutal that Iran had to resort to outside shots.

This was the team that defeated Latvia.

And while we need Justin Brownlee or a naturalized player to defeat Australia, we are in the zone. This team can play against the Middle Eastern squads.

Edu looked very comfortable at the power forward position because he can track defenders regardless of position, knowing that Kai Sotto is there to alter shots.

But then, June Mar Fajardo has publicly stated his intention to retire from international play. This is unfortunate for two reasons. One, Fajardo is still 6'10", and while he's now slower, he can still get physical in the paint. The other? Cone didn't use Arana, Troy Rosario, or Justine Baltazar in the game, which begs the question of which player could inherit his place on the team. This is why I can see Geo Chiu suddenly getting a Gilas call-up. He's also 6'10", and he's still developing. I know that we still have Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips, but along with Sotto and Edu, all of these players are playing in international leagues. We need a PBA player as an insurance policy.

Anyway, this is just me looking ahead to the future.

At the moment, Gilas is getting the check marks.

I know we can't take Syria lightly, and we should expect a bounce-back from both Jordan and Iran. We need to sweep all the games to make sure we advance to the World Cup.

I think sweeping Syria is an indication in itself that they are probably out of the running as we speak, but we really need to break through to eight wins.

Sure, no Asian team can stop Australia, but this Iran team was the same team that almost beat New Zealand. We need to finish with eight wins to secure a spot in the World Cup. If we give up one or two losses, not only would that put us in potential danger of elimination, but the wins that Jordan or Iran would get from beating us could also catapult them to a better win-loss record.

In Group A, Australia and New Zealand are our enemies. This time, they'll serve as our allies.

What better way to exploit their talents?

Let our pain BE their pain!

The All-Filipino squad worked because we have our twin towers. But if one of them is unavailable, and JMF can't be bothered to come out of retirement, then we need a guy like Bennie Boatwright to fill that gap.

Anyway, congratulations to Gilas Pilipinas for clearing the first window of Group F! Hopefully, they can ride this high into the remaining windows.

GILAS PILIPINAS BEATS IRAN | 68 TO 56

BOXSCORES:

GILAS PILIPINAS	GP	MP	PTS	REB	AST	FG	FGA	3PM	TO
RAMOS	1	29	16	7	1	5	15	2	1
GOMEZ DE LIANO	1	18	16	3	1	5	9	2	1
SOTTO	1	33	13	16	3	4	9	0	3
EDU	1	37	8	8	1	2	4	0	2
QUIAMBAO	1	29	6	3	1	2	6	2	0
FAJARDO	1	7	6	2	0	1	1	0	1
PEREZ	1	14	3	1	0	1	5	1	4
THOMPSON	1	23	0	3	3	0	2	0	3
NEWSOME	1	11	0	1	0	0	1	0	0