Philippines earn win over Iran on penultimate day of group matches at FIBA Asia Championship

The Philippines overcame Iran to move to the top of Group E ©Facebook/FIBA

Three-time International Basketball Federation (FIBA) men's Asia Championship winners Iran slipped to defeat against The Philippines as the penultimate day of second round group action took place in the Chinese city of Changsha.

Having been beaten by Iran in the 2013 final, The Philippines were hoping to secure revenge in the Group E clash but they found themselves losing at the end of the first quarter and at the half-time interval.

Their prospects seemed bleak when Iran opened up a 10 point lead in the third quarter, but it triggered a stirring fightback from the Filipinos and with Jayson Castro and Andray Blatche producing a series of excellent shots, they clawed themselves to a five point advantage with only one quarter remaining.

Rather than sitting on the lead the Filipinos maintained the momentum and began to pull away from their rivals on route to sealing an 87-72 victory, which moved them to the top of the standings due to their superior head-to-head record with Iran.

The Philippines can seal top spot in the group with a win over India tomorrow, with their opponents heading into the tie fresh from a narrow victory over Hong Kong.

India found themselves trailing 39-34 at half-time but they were able to edge two points closer to their rivals after a positive third quarter, before dominating the final stages to eventually win 76-71.

Despite the result, India will still require another victory to qualify for the quarter finals of the tournament after Japan overcame Palestine 74-67 in their match, to leave both teams on two wins and two defeats.

Japan claimed a crucial win over Palestine to keep their quarter-finals hopes on track — Japan claimed a crucial win over Palestine to keep their quarter-final hopes on track ©Getty Images

Palestine though look likeliest to be overhauled by India as they are set to face an Iranian team who will be eager to bounce back from their defeat today.

Meanwhile, China and Qatar are assured of their places in the last-eight of the tournament with the former maintaining their unbeaten record in Group F by overcoming Lebanon 90-72 while Qatar beat South Korea 69-63 to move into second spot.

Despite their defeat, South Korea look poised to reach the quarter-finals as they occupy the third of the four qualifying positions in the group and are due to play winless Kazakhstan in their final game.

Should they win, it would be a straight fight between Jordan and Lebanon for the final place, with Lebanon needing to overcome their opponents tomorrow to stand any chance of progressing.