The Gilas Pilipinas national squad was not able to contain the more experience Iranian side during the first meeting of the two Asian rivals in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. The Philippines was defeated by Iran with the final score at 68-63, the fourth straight victory of Iran over the Philippines in international competition.
Watch Gilas Pilipinas vs. Iran (Incheon Asian Games 2014) Highlights Video:
Fourth Quarter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAWZKJ4TR78
The Philippines was leading with seven (7) points at the final period of the game but the experienced players of the Iranian side made a tremendous 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead away from the Filipinos.
The Iranians was caught flat-footed by the smaller Filipinos during the second quarter of the game as they were outscored by the Filipinos offense and defensive prowess.
During the first quarter of the Gilas vs. Iran game, the Persians imposed its might at the start scoring 29 points compared to the Philippines 17 points in the first period of the game.
First Quarter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP7Og2bZzIw
It was in the second quarter that the Philippines outscored the Iranians and came close at the end of the first half with just a two-point deficit, 36-34 in favor of Iran.
The Gilas Pilipinas squad took the lead at the third quarter with Paul Lee exploding with a back-to-back points, a three-pointer and a quick lay-up, Gilas was leading with 3 points at 39-36.
Second Quarter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5rvXOEtVjg
The Filipinos then made a 10-1 run giving the biggest advantage for the Filipinos at 51-44 with just 2:58 left in the third period. Iran rebounded when naturalized center Marcus Douthit was sitting on the bench with their own 8-0 run against the Filipinos and took the lead at 61-60.
At the remaining minutes of the fourth quarter, only Paul Lee scored for Gilas Pilipinas through a free throw giving the Philippines the 63 point over-all output. The Filipinos never scored until the final buzzer, while the Iranians continued their dominance over the Philippines.
