Tehran - BORNA - The game, held Tuesday morning in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, saw Japan dominate the opening quarter 22–18, while the second quarter ended evenly at 18–18. Japan extended its lead with a 20–16 third quarter and sealed the victory with a strong 26–15 run in the final period.
With two wins against Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan and one loss to Japan, Iran finished second in Group D. The team will now face the third-placed side from Group C in Wednesday’s qualifying round for the quarterfinals.
The Iranian squad consists of Amir Reza Azari, Mohammad Safa Behnia, Amir Sam Mohammadi, Bardia Khosravi, Mahdi Mehrabi, Amir Ali Raeisi, Alireza Rashidi, Mahan Taghizadeh, Yasin Marvat, Seyed Ahmad Mobini, Mohammad Saleh Pakgoohar, and Amin Karimi.
The team is led by head coach Mohammad Sistani, with Mehran Hatami serving as technical director, Amir Mahdi Ghaeni as assistant coach, Mohsen Parvazi as psychologist, and Reza Zolghadr as fitness coach.
The U16 FIBA Asia Cup is being held in Mongolia from August 31 to September 7. The tournament’s top four teams will qualify for the 2026 FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey.
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