As the smoke cleared, it was the small but raucous expat group that was whooping it up, not the hometown crowd.

Iran had just won its third FIBA Asia championship in front of an audience of almost 20,000, but the tournament's repercussions went way beyond Sunday's final game.

For one, the weekend's semifinal did not include China, the first instance it has happened in the past 20-odd years. With a relatively young lineup far removed from the glory days of Gong Xiaobin and Yao Ming, the Chinese were not exactly expected to dominate - the Iranians were - but observers still penciled them in for at least a Final Four slot. And with a mix of former NBA players in Yi Jianlan, Wang Zhizhi and Sun Yue, they had, on paper, the best frontline in Asian ball.

Alas, that was not to happen after small-but-terrible Chinese Taipei torched them with a running game and torrential outside shooting in the quarterfinal on Friday. It also helped that the Taiwanese had already acquired the services of 6'9" naturalized center Quincy Davis III in an effort to shore up its frontline. And shore up it did - Davis took space in the paint, freeing up CTE's Lin Chi-Chieh and Tseng Wen-Ting for open jumpers.

While Chinese Taipei were thoroughly dominated by both the Iranians and the Koreans in the semifinals and battle for third place, respectively, their fourth-place finish was their best in years, and will most probably be their ticket to a wild-card slot in next year's FIBA World Cup in Spain.

China, on the other hand, was left searching for answers as their backcourt's lack of experience, injuries suffered during the tournament and what coach Giannaikis Panagiotis called a "lack of commitment to rebounding" contributed to a relatively early exit.

In contrast, the Korean squad played Chinese Taipei like it still mattered. Less than 24 hours after the Philippines dropped their hope for a first-ever Asian title, there they were, going after a prize that was more than just a small consolation. A third-place finish would also give them precious ranking points and a ticket to Madrid was waiting for them. And vent their frustrations they did - seconds after guard Kim Min-Goo entered the game, the spitfire immediately drained a three-point shot from the corner, igniting a furious rally that put the Koreans in the lead for good, 75-57.

It could be said that the Koreans' second- and third-quarter performance was the exact opposite of their game against the Philippines, where the home team capitalised on a smaller but tougher lineup to overhaul a halftime deficit and held on to the lead to barge into the final game. The Filipinos had hoped for a similar performance after falling behind Iran early on in Sunday's game, but their outside shooting had abandoned them. It also did not help that Iran forced a lot of turnovers and played an excellent all-around game, but as the Filipinos received their silver medals, it was nevertheless an excellent finish for a team that had lost starting center Marcus Douthit to injury.

Without Douthit, Iran had a field day in the paint. Point guard Mahdi Khamrany pounded the ball to center Hamed Haddadi, who capitalised on the Philippines' decimated frontline. Meanwhile, forwards Oshin Sahakian and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami hit timely shots to pull away in what had been Iran's toughest game so far. When it was all over, the Iranians had regained the crown they lost in 2011, when they lost to Jordan in the quarterfinal, and re-asserted their supremacy over their continental neighbours.

Iran, winning the game to the tune of 85-71, finished the tournament with an immaculate record and romped off with the gold medal. The Philippines clutched their hard-earned silver medals, and the Koreans settled for bronze. All three countries will go on to Spain in 2014, and for the hosts, a defeat couldn't have been sweeter. As soon as the game against Korea ended, social media networks were already abuzz with messages of congratulations for both players and coaches, and the platitudes continued even as it was pretty obvious that the Iranians will win the gold.

"We played the best team in Philippines," said Haddadi after he was declared MVP. He also rued the absence of Douthit, who he said "played good offense and defense."

The Philippines was more than happy to take the silver. "If someone had told me two months ago that on Aug 11 we'd end up with silver medals, I would be very, very happy," coach Vincent "Chot" Reyes told FIBA.com, his eyes brimming with pride at what his wards had accomplished.

Even the president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino, who was seated at a VIP box during the final game, issued a statement through his spokesperson, congratulating the home team for finally getting back to the world stage of the game closest to their hearts. Pau Gasol, the Spanish center/forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, also congratulated all the teams that finished on the podium, as they were the first continental qualifiers.

All said and done, Iran, the Philippines, and Korea will go to Spain with their confidence brimming and ready to take on the LeBrons and Gasols of the world.