TAIPEI -- Sa darating na 2015 FIBA Asia Cham-pionship ay tinukoy ni Iran coach Dirk Bauermann ang China bilang top favorite dahil sa hawak nitong home-court advantage.
Ngunit hindi niya binabalewala ang tsansa ng kanyang koponan at ng Gilas Pilipinas pati na ang South Korea.
Isang iginagalang na international coach na hu-mawak sa German at mga Polish national teams, binanggit din ni Bauermann ang Qatar, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Japan at Chinese Taipei bilang mga dark horses.
Ang Iran, Gilas Pilipinas, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, China, Qatar, Jordan at Kazakhstan, ayon sa pagkakasunod, ang top teams sa FIBA Asia sa Manila noong 2013. Sinuspindi naman ng FIBA ang Lebanon, isang regular contender sa mga nakaraang taon, noong 2013 Manila joust.
Sinabi ni Bauermann, isang silver-medal winning coach sa EuroBasket 2005, na mahirap balewalain ang anumang koponan sa naturang two-week international tournament.
“In every game, anything is possible,” wika ni Bauermann. “In a two-week tournament, anything is possible. Over a long nine-month season, usually the best team is going to end up winning the championship. But in 10 days, anything is possible.”
Itinuring ni Bauermann ang China, Iran, Gilas Pilipinas at South Korea bilang kanyang mga top bets.
“The Chinese team is the top favorite because playing at home is always a huge advantage, and then I think it’s the Philippines, it’s us, and Korea and maybe a dark horse, maybe Japan, or Qatar or Lebanon, who knows, you know,” wika ni Bauermann.