GUANGZHOU — Iran’s Serbian coach Veselin Matic had a mouthful to say after his team walloped the Smart-Gilas national basketball team, 65-48, Tuesday in the 16th Asian Games.

“We know the Philippines well. Our knowledge helped us win today,” said Matic, who took over as Iran’s head coach last year.

Matic, who did most of the talking during the press conference also attended by Smart-Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, said the Gilas players, apart from Marcio Lassiter, likes to play on the left side.

“So we pushed them to the right. They are a three-point shooting team and when they are forced to shoot from the other side, it’s not so easy. That was the key to winning the game,” he said.

Matic said they had a different team from the world championship in Turkey.

“Hamed Haddadi, our starting center, could not come here because he had to play in the NBA. Another important player, Arsalan Kazemi Naeini, is not with the team because he has to play in the NCAA,” said Matic who considers Japan as the top dog in the group.

“I think Japan has proven that they are the toughest team in the group with good performances this year. But they are missing their best player so maybe that will destroy their chemistry,” Matic said.

The Filipinos had another poor shooting night, making only 17-of-45 from the field, including 5 of 16 from the three-point arc.

Chris Tiu, who led all scorers with 14 points, accounted for four triples as he atoned for his anemic 2 of 11 shooting against Kuwait Saturday.

The rest of his teammates, however, struggled.

Rey Bancod, Manila Bulletin