TEHRAN (2016 FIBA Asia Challenge) – Hosts Iran took full advantage of a seemingly anemic Qatar to open their account at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge, 81-49, in Tehran, Iran. Because of this, Iran take the early lead in Group C.

Turning Point: Right off the bat, Iran asserted their supremacy on both ends of the floor. Team Melli outplayed Qatar in the first quarter to take a big 28-7 lead, and they never looked back since.

Stats Don't Lie: No team can shoot under 30% from the field and get outrebounded by 25 and still hope for the win. That’s exactly what happened here as the Qataris just couldn’t get anything going. Naturalized player Boney Watson was limited to 7 points and no players outside of Hassan Mohamed and Mohd Mohamed scored in double-digits.

Game Hero: As expected, Iranian giant Hamed Haddadi asserted himself early and often in this encounter. The former NBA player scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the first half as the hosts took a 47-22 lead to the locker rooms at the break.

The Bottom Line: Iran played to expectations in their first match of the competition, exploiting their edge in size and familiarity to completely outclass Qatar. Al Annabi, however, have a prime chance to bounce back tomorrow against Iraq, while Iran take a rest in preparation with their own game against the Iraqis on Day 3.

FIBA