IT took Gilas Pilipinas a full quarter before finally taking the measure of Iran.
The Filipinos bucked off a tentative start to turn back Iran B, 76-65, and kickstart its campaign in the Heyuan WUS International Basketball Tournament on a winning note Thursday at the Heyuan Sport Gymnasium in Guandong, China.
Gilas trailed the Iranians in the opening quarter, which ended with the opposition on top, 21-23.
But Rhenz Abando scored on a corner three-pointer to start the second period and finally put the team in control.
Jamie Malonzo and Dwight Ramos finished wth 11 and 10 points, respectively as they held the fort for Gilas early on, with Ramos scoring eight in the opening quarter.
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The rest of the team caught fire later on as Calvin Oftana hit for 10 points, young big man AJ Edu with nine points and nine rebounds, Roger Pogoy and Abando with eight each, and CJ Perez scoring all of his seven points near the end of the third, which Gilas led 59-46.
The Philippines enjoyed lead of as much as 66-47.
It was the second straight loss of Iran, which fell to Senegal, 85-75, during the opening tiff of the pocket tournament.
Gilas will make it two-in-a-row on Friday when it takes on Senegal at the Jiangman En Ping Sports gymnasium. (RG)
