The national basketball team emerged with a second victory at the FIBA U18 Asian Championship beating Kazakhstan 86-54 on Monday after routing Indonesia on Sunday in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Steering the wheel from the beginning, Iran finished the first quarter with an 18-point gap 32-14. In the next quarter, the Kazakhs pushed to regain their hope as they made 20 points. However it was not enough to topple Iran as the Persians took 23 points to take the second quarter as well.
Yet again the third quarter was a stage for Iran juveniles to show their skills by hammering the rival 15-9. Not stepping back, the national team won the last set 16-11.
Amir-Hossein Rezaeifar with 17 points and 14 successful rebounds was the most efficient player in the Iran roster. The win placed Iran on the unbeaten run both at the tournament and also against Kazakhstan in the history of the head-to-head clashes between the two teams.
In their curtain-raiser game of the tournament, Iran beat Indonesia 80-50 on Sunday. In the last game of the group stage the Iranians will meet Japan on Tuesday.
The 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship is the 25th edition of the Asian Championship for junior men aged 18 years old and below. The biennial is being held in Nonthaburi, Thailand, from August 5-11.
The top four teams will represent FIBA Asia in the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.
Iran, champion of the previous edition of the games, is defending its title to raise the number of its Asian titles to four. China is the most decorated team in the history of the championship with 11 titles.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints