Nationals claim 6th berth in W Cup finals

MANILA, Philippines - By claiming the top two spots in the FIBA-Asia Championship, Iran and Gilas Pilipinas became the fifth and sixth teams out 24 set to see action in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

The fancied Iranians clobbered the Chinese Taipei side, 79-60, while the Filipinos scored a stinging 86-79 victory over many-time tormentor South Korea to join early entrants US, Spain, Australia and New Zealand in the World Cup, formerly known as the FIBA World Championship.

The powerhouse Americans, composed of the best players in the NBA, made it through the inaugural event after clinching the gold medal in last year’s London Olympics while Spain, the Olympic silver medalist, has been seeded as the host country.

The Aussies and the Kiwis will represent the Oceania zone.

Three slots will be staked in the FIBA Africa Championship slated Aug. 20-31 in Ivory Coast while four slots are up for grabs in the FIBA Americas Championship set Aug. 30-Sept. 11 in Venezuela.

FIBA EuroBasket gets the biggest allotment with six seats in their qualifier slated Sept. 4-22 in Slovenia.

The last four slots will be wild card entries.