Manila: Iran, led by NBA centre Hamed Haddadi, ended the giant-killing run of Chinese Taipei yesterday to reach the final of the FIBA Asia basketball championship.
The Iranians will gun for their third Asian title today when they play hosts the Philippines, who ousted South Korea in a pulsating semi-final.
Haddadi, the first Iran-born player in the US National Basketball Association, scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 25 minutes as Iran defeated the Taiwanese, 79-60.
Point guard Mahdy Kamrani led all scorers with 19 points plus six assists for the Iranians, champions in 2007 and 2009 in the biennial event.
Meanwhile, Qatar led for majority of the game, fending off multiple rally attempts by Kazakhstan en route to a 72-67 victory.
As a result of the win, Qatar will face off against China in the battle for fifth place. Kazakhstan on the other hand plays Jordan for seventh.
Kazakhstan actually led early for the first three minutes of the game, until a pair of charities by Daoud Mosa Daoud equalised things at six-all. Five straight by Qatar then gave them a lead they didn’t relinquish the rest of the way, 11-6, 6:11mins left in the initial period.
Qatar won without former NBA player Jarvis Hayes logging any playing time. Yaseen Musa led his team in scoring with 18 markers on 54 percent shooting.
Daoud Mosa Daoud added 14 points off the bench, while another reserve, Baker Ahmad Mohammed, chipped in with 12.
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