FIBA U18 Asia Cup:
Iran beaten by Japan to finish sixth
Iran settled for a sixth-place finish at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup after suffering an 88-83 defeat to Japan in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday.
Kaito Nakamura dropped a game-high 30 points to help Japan rally from a three-point halftime deficit and win the game.
He scored 14 points in the fourth quarter alone, contributing to a 9-0 run that gave Japan a 69-58 advantage with 8:33 remaining on the clock.
The lead grew to a game-high 13 points, at 82-69, approaching the final four minutes following an 11-0 run, with the Japanese forward scoring eight points during the surge.
Mohammad-Yashar Kamal Khaledi led Iran’s scoring with 26 points, while Mohammad Shamsi and Amirreza Azari added 15 and 14, respectively.
Iran secured comprehensive victories over Qatar (94-69) and Sri Lanka (110-42) before falling 96-58 to China to finish second in Group C and advance to the playoff round, where Ali Hassanpour’s team defeated India 83-66 to set up a quarterfinal clash with defending champion Australia.
A 90-69 loss to Australia saw Iran miss out on qualification for next year’s FIBA U19 World Cup and left the team to seek a consolation fifth-place finish.
Iran bounced back to beat Chinese Taipei 105-84 in its first classification match on Saturday before falling short against Japan.