Bengaluru/Beirut, 9th August 2017: The Indian men’s basketball team began their FIBA Asia Cup 2017 campaign with a 54 – 101 loss against powerhouse Iran. India was slow out of the blocks, and fell behind 29 – 8 in the first quarter. From there on, the lead continued to grow as Iran outscored India in every quarter.
Iran are ranked 25th in the FIBA World Rankings, and showcased their offensive abilities in a clinical performance. They were shooting the ball at an impressive 51%, and had five players finish the game with scoring in double figures. Iran’s 7ft 2’’ centre Hamed Hadadi has played in the NBA (for the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns) and was at his imposing best against India, top scoring with 20 points and dishing out 8 assists.
For India, Amjyot Singh Gill was the only player who broke double figures with 10 points. India will be hoping to tighten up its game on both ends of the floor as it looks to qualify for the second phase of the tournament.
Iran (Hamed Hadadi 20 pts; Mohammad Jamshidijafarabadi 18 pts; Sajjad Mashayekhi 16 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 10 pts; Talwinderjit Singh 9 pts) 101 – 54 [29-8, 21 – 14, 29 – 17, 22 – 15]
