FIBA: 5 times Champion Philippines’ recent victories over Kazakhstan and Korea defeated by 3 times champion Iran for gold

 

Iran players celebrate after winning the 27th FIBA Asian Men's Basketball Championship in Manila yesterday.

Iran routed the Philippines 85-71 to bag gold at the 27th FIBA Asian men's basketball championship yesterday, powered by NBA centre Hamed Haddadi.

 

The seven-foot two-inch Haddadi was simply too much inside the paint for the Philippine side, scoring 29 points to lead all players.

 

Haddadi, the first Iran-born player in the US National Basketball Association, also grabbed 16 rebounds as he towered over his opponents. The speedy Filipinos made a valiant effort, and were playing without injured centre Marcus Douthit.

 

It was Iran's third gold at the Asian championship. The Philippines are five-times champions, though their last victory came back in 1985.

 

Iran, the Philippines and third-placed South Korea, who lost to the Philippines in the semis, will go to the FIBA world championships in Spain next year.

 

The Philippines trailed by as much as nine points before clawing back to 34-35 at half time led by point guard Jayson William.

 

The home team played in front of a crowd of about 20,000, with President Benigno Aquino and other top government officials at courtside to cheer them on.

 

The raucous fans however were silenced as Haddadi repeatedly clobbered them inside the paint with his low post play and put backs.

 

China beat Qatar

 

China ended their campaign with a 96-85 victory over Qatar, finishing fifth. The only chance for the former Asian Champion to play in next year's Basketball World Cup in Spain is a wildcard awarded by FIBA.

 

"We wanted to play the final so it's not good for us to play this match," said Panagiotis Giannakis, head coach of China. "But I think we learnt many things from this tournament. We have the opportunity to become stronger in the future."

 

A 13-0 run in the beginning of the second half helped China to enlarge their lead, which was only five points by halftime. The 15-time Asian Champion never let the match slip away from their hands from then on.

 

It was a tight game at the start of the first, with Wang Zhizhi building a three-point lead off a Yi Jianlian assist with six minutes and 20 seconds remaining, 9-6.

 

But Mohammed Saleem Abdullah and Mansour Elhadary then went on a 7-0 run for Qatar, building one-point lead after the first quarter. Wang Zhizhi then anchored a 15-4 run to start the second period.

 

Qatar responded with a 15-5 run to tie the game at 40-all.Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu had the last say in the second, giving China a 45-40 lead at the half.

 

Guo Ailun led China with 21 points and five assists. Veteran Wang Zhizhi finished his last Asian Championship game with a 13-point and 11-rebound double-double.

 

Yi Jianlian took 12 while Wang Shipeng and Zhufangyu combined for 24. China suffered a shocking loss to Chinese Taipei in Friday's quarter-finals, leading them to their second worst result in Asian Championships.

 

"We need to summarize after returning back to China," said Yi. "Not only today's match. Not only this tournament. It's for a long time."

 

"During the tournament we didn't improve as I wanted," said Giannakis. "We lost our concentrations sometimes and we lost the chance to the final. But I think we will become smarter with more experiences."

 

INQUIRER & Gulf Times

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Philippines reveals US spy planes monitoring China at sea

The Philippines said that US spy planes were providing crucial intelligence on Chinese military activities in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

 

US Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft frequently fly over areas that the Philippines says are within its legal territory but where China has deployed military vessels, said Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario.

 

"I think it's of significant importance for us," del Rosario told reporters, when asked about the value of the information gathered by the spy planes.

 

"We do have an interest in terms of what is going on with our exclusive economic zone, within our continental shelf, and we want to know if there are any intrusions."

 

China claims nearly all of the sea, even waters close to the Philippines and other neighbors.

 

Analysts have long warned that China's overlapping claims with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan could be a flashpoint of armed conflict.

 

Tensions have risen in recent years as China has adopted more aggressive diplomatic and military tactics to assert its claims to the potentially resource-rich waters.

 

The Philippines has repeatedly called on the United States, its former colonial master and close military ally, for help in resisting China.

 

While the United States insists it will not take sides in the (West Philippine Sea) South China Sea dispute, it has helped to upgrade the Philippines' military capabilities.

 

When asked if the spy plane surveillance on China may jar with the United States' insistence of neutrality in the maritime dispute, del Rosario emphasized the close US-Philippine ties.

 

He pointed out the allies had a mutual defense treaty, which calls on each party to help the other in times of external aggression.

 

He also said the United States was keen to maintain peace in the Asia-Pacific and ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, home to some of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

 

"I think it is in that context that we believe they have a right to be there," he said.

 

"It is also because we'd like them to be there, that is the bottom line."

 

When asked how long the spy planes had been flying over the Philippine-claimed waters of the South China Sea, del Rosario said since at least he became foreign secretary in 2010.

 

He gave no further details on the timeframe but said the spy planes operated mostly, but not exclusively, during times of joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.

 

The Philippine military, which is considered among the weakest in the region, has largely relied on excess US hardware to boost its capabilities.

 

In 2011, it acquired a decommissioned US coastguard cutter, and transformed it into its naval flagship called Gregorio del Pilar.

 

A sister ship, the Ramon Alcaraz is set to arrive within days, and President Benigno Aquino is scheduled to attend a welcoming ceremony for it next week at a former US naval base about three hours' drive north of Manila.

 

Del Rosario said the government was looking at acquiring more US ships in the future, as well as allowing more rotational visits of American soldiers.

 

"I think it would be good if we can get one or two more," he said of the US vessels.

 

The Philippines was also expected to get $50 million this year from a US congressional budget allocation for foreign military aid, 60 percent more than last year.

 

China has consistently said the United States should have no role to play in the dispute over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

 

Agence France-Presse, GMA News

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