Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games:
Jamshidi stars as Iran beats Bahrain to progress to basketball semis
Iran’s men’s basketball team edged out Bahrain 79-74 at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals, remaining on course for a fifth medal in six editions of the multi-sport event.
Standing between Iran and a place in the final in Friday’s last-four clash at Nagoya’s Aichi International Arena will be South Korea, which thrashed Jordan – silver medalist in Hangzhou 2022 – 114-80 earlier in the day.
Veteran shooting guard Mohammad Jamshidi delivered yet another impressive performance in his first international tournament in three years, chipping in 20 points, with Mohammad Heydari adding 19 – including nine from behind the arc.
Arman Zanganeh finished on 11 points for the Iranian outfit, with team captain Arsalan Kazemi posting a double-double with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Two Bahrainis also registered double-doubles, with Mustafa Rashed contributing a game-high 26 points and 12 assists, while American-born guard Elijah Thomas had 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Jakarr Sampson, meanwhile, produced a decent showing with 18 points for Bahrain, which made the brighter start, scoring the first four points, before Iran responded with two three-pointers from Heydari and later took a 9-7 lead after a steal and a three-pointer by Piter Girgoorian. The teams remained closely matched until Iran pulled clear late in the opening quarter to lead 21-17.
Greek head coach Sotiris Manolopoulos’s side extended its advantage in the second quarter through two three-pointers by Zanganeh and further contributions from Mahdi Jafari, Jamshidi and Kazemi. Bahrain managed to reduce the deficit, but Iran went into halftime 43-34 ahead.
Jamshidi and Matin Aqajanpour hit three-pointers early in the third quarter as Iran moved 49-39 in front. Bahrain fought back strongly, however, with Simpson, Ahmed Haji and Rashed helping the team level the score at 51-51 with 3:29 remaining in the quarter.
Iran regained the lead through Salar Monji, Heydari and Girgoorian and entered the final period 60-55 ahead.
The momentum shifted again in the fourth quarter. Iran opened a 68-61 lead through Navid Rezaeifar and Heidari, but Bahrain responded with three-pointers from Rashed and Simpson before Rashed’s steal and score put Bahrain ahead 69-68.
Zanganeh immediately restored Iran’s lead from beyond the arc, while Jamshidi added another three-pointer to make it 74-69.
Rashed cut the deficit to two with another three-pointer with 1:54 remaining, and Simpson tied the game at 74-74 with 1:14 left.
Jamshidi then delivered at a crucial moment, converting a two-point field goal while drawing a foul and adding the resulting free throw to put Iran 77-74 ahead.
Bahrain’s Rashed was subsequently ejected after receiving a technical foul, and Jamshidi converted another free throw in the closing seconds to seal Iran’s victory.
Iran had endured a disappointing start to its campaign, suffering a 59-53 defeat to Qatar in its Group B opener, before bouncing back in style to beat Chinese Taipei 72-69 and then Jordan 81-68 to finish atop the group standings.