William Jones Cup 2015 (Photo : FIBA Asia)
Day 6 of the William Jones Cup 2015 may wind down as the pivotal point of the tournament, with the top teams slated to play each other. However, there's probably no game that weighs more importance than the upcoming showdown between Asian hoops powerhouse Iran and the Philippines at 1:00 p.m (GMT 8+).
Both boasting impressive records after five days of intense basketball competition, Iran (4-1) and the Philippines (3-1) are expected to use this latest confrontation as measuring stick to gauge where they at now in their preparation for the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China later this month.
Of course, these teams are still not playing at full strength. The Philippines are campaigning without naturalized center Andray Blatche, who took a leave of absence to attend his uncle's funeral. The former Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards forward is expected to suit up for the Philippines at FIBA Asia joust. Meanwhile, the Iranians are missing the service of veteran winger Samad Nikkahah Bahrami for undisclosed reasons.
Regardless of their current ordeal, Thursday's match-up will ultimately show the order of power in the continent with roughly two weeks left before the FIBA Asia Championship. Thus, it's appropriate to list down the strengths and weaknesses of each team along with key factors that could affect the outcome of the match.
Philippine's Blitzing Run & Gun Can Offset Iran's Half-court Dominance
The Philippines continues to thrive in fast-break situation, outgunning and outrunning their opponents with blitzing speed. Aware of their disadvantage in height and size, the Philippines used a fast-paced offense to score easy buckets in transition while wearing the opposing teams down in the process.
If they want to pull off a win over Iran, the Philippines needs to utilize more of their lightning quick unit consists of Terrence Romeo, Calvin Abueva Matt Ganuelas-Roser, Marc Pingris and Mo Tuatuaa to offset Iran's significant size advantage. Pushing the ball up in almost every opportunity would not only give them better scoring chances while Iran's giants are on the floor, they make breathing a lot tougher for these big dudes (Hamed Haddadi, Poustin Kardoust and Rouzbeh Arghavan)
It All Starts with Mehdi Kamrani
Haddadi might be their focal point on offense, but Mehdi Kamrani is its heart and soul. Kamrani, the rugged playmaker of the Iranian national team, will pose a huge problem to the Philippine team again because of his ability to create shots for him and his teammates.
With Bahrami sitting out, Iran's offense will start with Kamrani. Putting a bigger defender on him might work, but this guard showed time and time again that he's hard to stop once he gets his rhythm going. He can bury the Philippines with his skills-set alone.
The Rock vs. Hamed
Philippine's big man Asi Taulava has been in countless wars with Hamed Haddadi in a span of almost a decade. There's no doubt that the 30-year old Haddadi will have all advantage in the world over the 42-year Taulava inside the shade lane, but the Filipino veteran could make things tougher for his Iranian rival by using his wide frame to pound him inside.
Haddadi was seen struggling to breathe several times already in the tournament, and it could suggest poor conditioning of the big man. For Taulava, making Haddadi work harder might prove valuable down the stretch, especially in a tight ballgame.
Prediction: Philippines vs. Iran match at Jones Cup 2015 has all the makings of another classic encounter. While Iran has huge advantage in height, the Philippines might be only team in the region capable of offsetting Iran's bigs with their speed and athleticism. It's going to be close, but the Filipinos will eke out a morale-boosting win 79-74.
