FIBA Asia 2015 Matchup Preview: Gilas Pilipinas Basketball rival powerhouse Iran national team will be the fifth game of Gilas to be held September 28 and second in Second Round at Changsha China, FIBA Asia 2015. We dissect and analyze the strengths and weaknesses, together with the best cagers that Iran NT can bring against RP Five.

Philippine Basketball Team will face juggernaut Iran who brings a perfect 4-0 record from the preliminaries to their latest in the second round. Iran massacred all their opponents with leads of more than 20 points to a whopping 80 marginal victory lead.

Rated at 17 in FIBA World rankings, Iran played 16 times in FIBA Asia Championships and twice in FIBA Worlds. The Persians currently hold three Gold finishes in FIBA Asia.

Records show that Iran beat the Philippines 7-1 in FIBA Asia history. It is now undeniable that the odds stack-up against Pilipinas in this brewing Asian basketball feud. Philippines for its part won the Gold in FIBA Asia 5 times but last placed first in year 1985.

The Philippines last tasted victory against the present Iran squad in the Chot Reyes led Smart Gilas in William Jones Cup 2012. Philippines won the Gold in that tournament. In Jones Cup 2015, Gilas dropped to Silver as Iran copped the Gold.

Iran is not the most athletic team in Asian basketball. However, it is a mistake to say that Iran only thrives because of their height and heft. Undeniably, Iran is the top-team in Asia due their discipline, cohesion, shooting precision and team play.

Iran utilizes the two-man game to fatal effect opposite their rivals. It is imperative that Gilas be swift in reacting to switches and to challenge the shooters who will be open.

The addition of their new mentor, coach Dirk Bauermann, only strengthened the already deadly Iranian squad. Bauermann transformed Iran into a team that relies not on their strongest players, but a unit that can play topnotch even when utilizing rag-tag players.

Iran’s current scoring leader is not Hamed Haddadi or Samed Nikkhah Bahrami. Mohammad Hassanzadeh leads in scoring and rebounding with 17.0 PPG and 9.5 RPG. Our recent analysis in article “Dissecting Gilas Pilipinas Basketball Rivals in FIBA Asia 2015” proves to be correct. Hassanzadeh, the energy guy of Iran, is one of the players to watch out for. He is the Calvin Abueva and Marc Pingris of Iran combined.

Hassanzadeh gives Iran the intangibles. If Pingris or Abueva can make Hassanzadeh a non-factor, it will help stifle Iran’s offensive rebounding and defensive strength.

The change in Iran’s system tells us that breaking Iran will need more than stopping their top players. Pilipinas must disrupt and halt the offensive flow and defensive strategies of Iran. Coach Tab Baldwin must instruct his guards to harrass Iranian guards Mashayekhi and Khamrani. With this tactic, the cohesion, discipline and team-play of Iran will buckle down. RP Five can utilize either the full court press or half court trapping defenses to unnerve the guards of the Western Asian power.

It remains to be seen if Andray Blatche can hold a candle against Hamed Haddadi. If healthy, Blatche will definitely make Haddadi succumb to early foul woes. The problem is the ankle injury of Andray which he sustained in the game against Japan. How mobile Andray will be against Iran will be the biggest factor in defeating the Persians. If Blatche cannot play in lieu of his injury, Asi Taulava and Sonny Thoss will have their hands full in containing Asia’s most dominant player in Haddadi.

Other players to watch out for include slasher Samed Nikkhah Bahrami, power forward Oshin Sahakian and threepoint specialist Hamed Afagh.

Historically, The dribble drive system is not so effective against Iran. However, if Pilipinas can knock down their three point bombs and guards like Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro can penetrate the paint unrelentlessly, RP can win. It will force the bigs of Iran to extend their impenetrable defense and open the lanes wide open for the dribble drive to flow unabated.

RP Team should be precise, unforgiving and relentless against Iran. This may not be a must-win game for the Filipinos, but a victory against Iran will surely serve as a huge morale boost in the campaign of Gilas going into the deadly quarterfinals.