Iran and Philippines on their way to 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain

Iran and the Philippines have both booked their places in the FIBA Basketball World Cup to be held in Spain in 2014 after finishing first and second respectively in the Asia Championship game, which was held in Manila, Philippines.

Full credit must go out to Iran for taking out the gold on the back of strong performances throughout the tournament from NBA player Hamed Hadadi (tournament MVP), Oshin Sahakian and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami. Iran will be making their second overall appearance at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, after finishing 19th in 2010.

Much praise should also go out to the Philippines team. According to the latest FIBA rankings, they are sitting as the 45th best team in the world (Iran currently 20th), and next year, they will be taking on the best that the world has to offer, including the likes of Team USA and hosts Spain. The basketball-mad country will be making their fifth appearance in the World Cup next year, and their first since 1978, and will be relying on Marcus Douthit, Jean Marc Pingris, Jayson William and Jeffrei Allan Chan to help them progress past the group stages. Who knows, even JaVale McGee of the Denver Nuggets might suit up for Team Philipinas, with some expert advice from Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra? Ok, maybe not the latter, but the former is a possibility…