Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games:
No room for another stumble after Iran falls to Qatar in basketball opener
Iran’s men’s basketball team was left with no room for further slip-ups in its next two Group B games after getting off to a losing start at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, suffering a 59-53 defeat against Qatar on Thursday.
After an even opening quarter at the Aichi International Arena, Qatar outscored Iran 21-11 in the second to establish a 31-21 halftime lead. Iran fought back in the final period but could not erase the deficit, extending its losing streak after back-to-back setbacks against New Zealand and the Philippines in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers less than a fortnight ago.
American-born guard Michael Lewis scored a game-high 21 points for Qatar, with Dejan Janjic adding 11.
Matin Aqajanpour led Iran with 15 points, while Piter Girgoorian finished with 10.
Despite having several players capable of shooting from long range, Iran’s poor three-point shooting ultimately proved costly.
Iran attempted 36 three-pointers but converted only nine of them, finishing with a 25 percent success rate. More than 65 percent of the team’s field-goal attempts came from beyond the arc, highlighting its heavy reliance on perimeter shooting and making it easier for Qatar to defend against a largely one-dimensional offense.
Iran was also inefficient from inside the arc. The team attempted only 19 two-point shots during the game, making six for a 32 percent shooting rate.
Qatar, meanwhile, made greater use of drives and play around the basket, converting 16 of its 30 two-point attempts for 53 percent and gaining a clear advantage in the paint.
Iran’s struggles at the free-throw line added to its problems in a game decided by just six points. The Iranians made only 14 of 24 free throws, leaving 10 points at the line and missing a valuable opportunity to close the gap or potentially turn the game around.
The statistical battle was otherwise relatively even.
Qatar narrowly won the rebounding contest 36-34, while Iran had slight advantages in assists and steals, 12-11 and 12-10, respectively. Qatar also committed more turnovers, 20 compared with Iran’s 18.
However, the decisive difference came in overall shooting efficiency. Iran made just 15 of 55 field-goal attempts for a dismal 27 percent, compared with Qatar’s 43 percent.
Chasing a fifth medal in six Asian Games editions, Iran will resume action against Chinese Taipei today before concluding its group campaign against Jordan on Sunday, knowing that another defeat would leave its hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals hanging by a thread.
Greek head coach Sotiris Manolopoulos’s side, however, will look to build on its recent success against its next two opponents.
Iran produced an epic fightback to overcome a 21-point deficit and defeat Chinese Taipei 78-75 in a thrilling quarterfinal clash at last year’s FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Iran met Jordan as recently as July at the preliminary stage of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, where Manolopoulos’s men comprehensively won 67-49 in Amman before completing a 5-1 run to progress to the second round, making amends for the 73-60 setback against their familiar West Asian foe earlier in the qualifiers in February.
Chinese Taipei narrowly defeated Jordan 83-80 later on Thursday.
The top two teams in each of the three groups will be joined by the two best third-placed teams in the quarterfinals.