BEIJING—It will be a battle of Asian rivals when Iran takes on the Philippines in their last game of the 2019 FIBA World Cup at Wukesong Arena here.

For the Iranians, they are trying to boost their chances of claiming an outright Olympic berth or at least earn a shot at one of the Olympic qualifying tournaments. They secured their first win on Friday night, after downing Angola, 71-62.

The Philippines, for its part, is just trying to get a first victory. Gilas has had its hearts broken repeatedly in China, suffering blowout losses to Serbia and Italy before succumbing to Angola in overtime in the group round in Foshan. On Friday night, the Filipinos never recovered from a slow start against Tunisia, and lost 86-67.

The game, hence, is crucial for both teams. Momentum, however, is on the side of the Iranians, as they are coming off a victory while Gilas Pilipinas is still winless.

Game time is at 8 p.m.

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"We respect them too much," said Iran coach Mehran Shahintab of the Philippines. "We have too much communication to each other."

"We respect them, and we know that they can score very well. They have great players, some naturalized players, some American player, Andray Blatche and the rest of the players," he added.

"They are great. It's a difficult game, like Angola, we try our best to have a good game against them."

Iran won both of its games against the Philippines during the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, including an 81-73 win in Tehran that Blatche missed due to his suspension. Iran also beat the Philippines at Mall of Asia Arena, 78-70, despite playing without its veterans in Hamed Haddadi and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami.

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Both of them are back in the Iran roster for the World Cup, and Bahrami is coming off a 21-point performance against Angola.

"Philippines is a good team, they play different style. Angola is more physical, and they have big guys, but Philippines have smaller guys, faster, better ball-handler, and they're better one-on-one," said Bahrami, who is very familiar with how Gilas Pilipinas plays thanks to their many battles over the years.

"So, definitely it's a different plan, but I think we have potential. We have a good team. Defensively, we have a very good team."

Bahrami just hopes that his squad can carry the momentum of its win over Angola against the Philippines, especially after they pulled away in the fourth quarter.

"In the second half, we wake up. Hopefully we can keep the same rhythm, like in the second half of the Angola game," he said.

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