Amini stars, Iran crushes India to seal FIBA Asia Cup spot
Iran secured its place in August’s FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah thanks to a 106-55 hammering of India at home in Group E of the qualifiers on Friday night.
Eager to get the job done after being foiled by Qatar last November, Team Melli leaned on defense to generate their offense and broke the game wide open in a masterclass of a second quarter that the visitors could never recover.
Mohammad Amini was the star of the show for the home side at Tehran’s Azadi Basketball Hall, contributing with a game-high 33 points and seven rebounds.
The 19-year-old winger, playing for French club SLUC Nancy Basket, shot an excellent 14-of-15 from the floor to set the most field goals made in an Asia Cup qualifiers game – two clear of the previous mark set the trio of Ahmed Haji, Brian Halums, and Freddie Lish on separate occasions.
The young prodigy went a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc as well, tying Karim Zeinoun for most three-pointers in a game without a miss which the Lebanese guard set during a victory over Bahrain in Zouk Mikael back in February 2020.
The former youth team standout was already bound for a big night when he fired 11 in the second period alone, outscoring the entire opposition as Iran went on an overwhelming 28-5 tear to build a commanding 46-20 lead at the half.
It would never get close since, with Amini and the rest of the squad continuing the onslaught to send their foes crashing back down to earth after pulling off a massive 88-69 upset of Kazakhstan in Chennai back in the November window.
Matin Aqajanpour chipped in 18 points, while Hassan Akbari had 10 as the Asian powerhouse progressed to finals for the 10th straight time – 19th overall.
Veteran Arsalan Kazemi, meanwhile, finished with five points, 10 rebounds, and a pair of steals in an all-around effort.
Now at 4-1 in Group E, the three-time Asia Cup champion will be looking to finish its qualification campaign with a win against Kazakhstan in Astana on Monday.