Head coach Manolopoulos extends Iran contract until 2028
Sotiris Manolopoulos has committed his future to Iran’s national basketball team through 2028, the Iranian Basketball Federation announced on Thursday.
The 55-year-old Greek tactician, who previously coached Panathinaikos B.C. and AEK Athens B.C. in his homeland, as well as Romania’s CS Dinamo București, took charge of Iran in August 2024.
He guided Team Melli to a third-place finish at the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last August – the country’s first podium appearance at the tournament since 2017.
Iran swept all three of its Group B games, topping a pool that included Japan, Guam and Syria, before mounting a dramatic comeback to edge Chinese Taipei 78-75 in the quarterfinals. A heavy 92-48 semifinal defeat to eventual champion Australia halted Iran’s title bid, but the West Asian powerhouse rebounded to defeat New Zealand 79-73 in the bronze-medal game.
Turning his focus to the next challenge, Manolopoulos has named a 15-man squad for the upcoming double-header against Jordan and Syria in Group C of the Asian qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Top spot in the group will be on the line when Iran faces Jordan on neutral court at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon, on Friday. Both sides opened their qualifying campaigns in December with perfect 2-0 records, defeating Iraq and Syria, respectively.
The matchup will mark their first meeting since the 2022 Asia Cup quarterfinals, where Jordan claimed a 91-76 victory to extend its head-to-head advantage to 6-2. The Falcons will be seeking a third consecutive win in the current qualifying cycle.
Iran will also stage its designated home fixture against Syria in Zouk Mikael on March 2.
Iran got off to an emphatic start in the qualifiers, draining a remarkable 19 three-pointers to defeat Iraq 94-68 in its group opener in Zouk Mikael – led by Sina Vahedi’s 21 points – before Piter Girgoorian contributed a game-high 21 points – including 12 from behind the arc – to lead Iran to a 86-71 win in the second outing.
Under the qualification format, the top three teams from each of the four first-round groups will progress to the second round. The 12 advancing teams will be divided into two groups — with Group A paired with Group C, and Group B with Group D — carrying forward results against fellow qualifiers. The top three teams from each second-round group, along with the best fourth-placed side, will secure spots at the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
The following is Iran’s 15-man squad for the upcoming games in World Cup qualifiers:
Arsalan Kazemi (Esteghlal), Arman Zanganeh (Palayesh Naft Abadan), Sina Vahedi (Meralco Bolts), Salar Monji (Al Sulaibikhat), Mobin Sheikhi (Shahrdari Gorgan), Matin Aqajanpour (Kaleh Mazandaran), Piter Girgoorian (Shahrdari Gorgan), Seyyed Mahdi Jafari (Esteghlal), Mohammad-Mahdi Heidari (Esteghlal), Hassan Aliakbari (Esteghlal), Amirhossein Azari (Tabiat Eslamshahr), Seyyed Mohammad Qafari (Tabiat Eslamshahr), Alireza Sharifi (Esteghlal), Mohammad-Basir Momeni (Petro Novin Mahshahr), Mohammad-Mahdi Rahimi (Esteghlal).