The Iran Petrochimi continue to be undefeated as they beat Philippines Meralco Bolts in a semi-final duel of the 2018 FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
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Meralco owned the first three quarters of the ball-game but were unable to to keep their stand in the final quarter.
At 1:31 mark in the fourth quarter, Bolts import Allen Durham drove hard to the basket and he bumped to the a moving-body defensive position of Sajjad Mashayekhi. The score was at 76-72 in favor for Iran.
The two referees who are looking on a different angles blown their respective whistles and made contradicting calls. One referee on the left side of Durham called a blocking foul while the other who is in Durham’s right sees it as offensive foul.
The two referees discussed the matter but no one conceded. To keep everything in order they settled to double fouls.
As a result Sajjad Mashayekhi and Allen Durham got fouled as both players were already nursing five personal fouls each.
Without Durham and their other go-to-guy locals who are not in uniform the Bolts went to Diamond Stone. With time running out, Stone launched a contested three-pointer but only hit the backboard.
Without any option, team Pilipinas committed an intentional foul only to stop the clock. Team Iran took advantage as they sank all of their free-throws and sealed the victory.
Allen Durham Breakaway Slam
🇵🇭 Durham 🛩🛩🛩 👊💥 #FIBAAsiaCC @MeralcoBoltsPH @pbaconnect pic.twitter.com/NGEuV07vbB
— #FIBAAsiaCC (@FIBAAsiaCC) October 1, 2018
Durham led the Philippines squad with 27 points and 11 rebounds while his Bolts import partner only got 15 points after averaging 20+ points per outing prior to their Iran match.
Iran inability to convert three-pointers in the first half kept Meralco in striking distance. Petrochimi were 0-of-8 from downtown as they head to their dugout at half time.
Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi led Iran with his 29 points who sparked his team in the third quarter as they started to convert three-pointers.
Team Pilipinas will resume tomorrow at 7:00 PM for the Bronze medal game.
Philippines vs Iran Box Score
Quarters: 18-18 | 17-18 | 21-21 | 25-15
Iran Petrochimi (79) – Abadi 5, Naeini 6, Mirzaeitalarposhti 6, Pazrofteh 7, Yakhchalidehkordi 29, Arghavan 1, Kardoustpoustinsaraei 10, Mashayekhi 15
Meralco Bolts (74) – Amer 5, Hugnatan 4, Lanete 12, Stone 15, Tolomia 9, Atkins 2, Durham 27