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THE NOKIA Pilipinas Under-16 National Squad suffered their first defeat in the 1st FIBA AsiaUnder-16 Championship for Men after they were waylaid by powerhouse Iran, 70-76, in their game late Monday night at the Bandaraya Stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
The Nationals appeared to have the game well in control as they led 19-15 after the first 10 minutes of play. However, they suddenly crumbled in the second period as they were outclassed and outscored, 7-23, which broke the game wide open for Iran.
That momentary lapse by the Philippines, which included a whopping nine turnovers in that stretch alone and a horrendous 2-of-13 shooting from the field, allowed their opponents to erect a 12-point lead, 38-26, at the turn.
The Nationals tried to make a game out of it as they cut the lead down to just four, 55-59, after the third stanza but Iran proved to steadier down the stretch as they held on for the win behind the efforts of Mirmohammad Mir Fattahi who had 20 points and athletic guard Soheil Yousefi who added 15 markers.
Kiefer Ravena bounced back from his 11-point showing against Syria, by scoring 26 points while Von Pessumal added 13 points. The loss was their first in the tournament after four straight victories. It was also Iran's first win over the Philippines after the Nationals beat them twice in the Nokia Youth Basketball Invitationals held in Cebu several weeks back.
