It was their star man, the first Iranian player ever to play in the NBA, Hamed Haddadi, who led the way as his team romped to victory, netting 29 points and contributing with 16 rebounds as the Philippines struggled to cope with the might of their opponents in front of a 20,000 capacity crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.

But just reaching the final was perceived as mission accomplished for the hosts, as they booked one of the three berths available at next year's FIBA World Cup by reaching the final.

"It's been a tough three months but we took a big step for Philippine basketball in the last 10 days," said Philippines captain Jimmy Alapag.

"We're back in the world basketball stage."

Head coach Vincent Reyes added: "We fell a little bit short but I'm still very proud of our boys."

"We were a bit overmatched from the start, but we didn't want to let our fans down."

Iran have been an unstoppable force throughout the tournament, dishing out annihilations right, left and centre, notably the 115-25 win over Malaysia in the opening game and a 102-58 win over India.

Iran have won their third FIBA Asian Championship win in four attempts in Manila

A third win from four Asian Championship tournaments has well and truly confirmed that the Chinese stranglehold on the sport in the continent has finally been relinquished.

China had won every single tournament bar two since 1975 before Iran took their maiden title in 2007, and retained it in 2009.

Chinese basketball has fallen from grace dramatically in recent years, and after going into the tournament as the highest ranked team at world number 11, they failed to deliver once more, missing out on qualification for the FIBA World Cup after losing to Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals.

China also lost all of their games at the London 2012 Olympic Games and only won one game at these Championships, a 113-22 mauling against a somewhat uninspiring Malaysian side, who propped up Group B after conceding 308 points in just three matches.

South Korea, who defeated China 63-59 in the group stages, took the final qualification spot for next year's World Cup with a thumping 75-57 win over Chinese Taipei, who suffered the same fate the last time they reached the bronze medal match in 1999.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
July 2013: China Central Television secure three-year rights deal for flagship FIBA basketball competitions
June 2013: Draw for 2013 FIBA Asia basketball Championship made in Manila
January 2013: FIBA Asia Basketball Championship moved to Philippines amid Beirut safety fears