Iran basketball team’s dream to step into the FIBA Under 16 Asia Championship ended as it lost the quarterfinal to New Zealand 73-69 in a thrilling match on Friday in Foshan, China.
Iranians took the lead in the first quarter with a score of 20-16 but that dominance at the court was overshadowed by the Kiwis when Iran lost the second quarter 16-17 based on the result on the FIBA website.
In the third quarter the young men from New Zealand again had the upper hand and scored 21 while Iran tool 13 points.
Results of the third quarter pushed back Iran; the team tried get back in the last quarter where the players scored 20 points against 19 points collected by New Zealand. That simply was not enough and Iran had to bow out.
The loss means Iran also loses the chance of clinching a quota for the U16 FIBA World Cup. Only four top teams in the semis are eligible for the quota.
Iran ascended from the group stage matches as the table-topper of Group C where they beat Macau 148-45 and Taiwan 93-84.
Matin Aghajanpour exploded for a jaw-dropping 39 points to carry Iran’s cause in the pivotal encounter against Taiwan. Aghajanpour was also the topscorer and top performer of the clash with Macau.
As said by the Fiba.basketball website, he was the tournament’s most efficient player until Iran was knocked out at the quarterfinals.
Four teams namely, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines and China will go to the semis. The final clash will take place on Sunday.
