This should be an extremely exciting week for all local basketball aficionados. Tonight our very own Gilas Pilipinas National Men’s Team hopes to bounce back from the 88-92 defeat to Kazakhstan on Friday when it faces Asian powerhouse and Group F second-running team Iran at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Nationals aim to score the important victory tonight especially that they’re now currently tied with Japan at third spot with identical 5-4 win-loss cards. In the first meeting in the tournament, Iran hammered an 81-73 win over Gilas in Tehran. Then, on Wednesday, the Ateneo Blue Eagles try to sweep the University of the Philippines to annex a second straight Universities Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball crown, following an impressive 88-79 triumph in Game 1 on Saturday at the Big Dome. And of course, the much- awaited showdown between the Alaska Aces and the Magnolia Hotshots for the Best-of-Seven Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup finals starts also on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.