AMMAN (Jordan) - Iran averted disaster as the Philippines and Jordan ran to easy wins in the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2023-Division B opener, Monday at the Prince Hamza Sport Hall.

Iran prevent collapse, ward off gritty Malaysia

Iran averted a fourth-quarter collapsed and hacked out an 80-74 victory over Malaysia in what turned out to be a nail-biting first game in the second division after initially appearing otherwise.

Ghazal Zamani Dehyaghoubi and Helya Houdneh joined hands for the key 6-0 run that proved enough to take the wind out of their counterparts' sails after the latter got to within just two points, 70-72, with under three minutes left to play from being down by as much as 19.

Dehyaghoubi finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Houdneh ended up with her own double-double as she registered 12 markers and 11 boards.

Zahra Zarei also had a hand in the triumph with 17 points, on top of 10 rebounds and 11 assists in 40 minutes of play for the first triple-double of this year's Amman Games. She also collected 4 steals on the way to tallying a game-high efficiency rating of 31.0,

ZahraSadat Bazoobandi made 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists while Zahra Yazdani Zazerani chipped in 11 for Iran, which are now the early leaders of Group B (1-0).

Ke Xin Lee, on the other hand, had 20 points to lead Malaysia in the comeback that fell shot. Emily Ang Zi Shan supported her with 15 points while Xin Yu Oh and Jolin Ting Pei Wen had 10 each.

Philippines cruise past Hong Kong

The Philippines found the mark early and beat Hong Kong, 79-40, in the second game of the night.

Gilas Women jumped to a 10-0 lead to start the match, although it wasn't until their 15-2 run abridging the tailend of the first quarter and early in the following period for a 27-13 edge that they broke away for good to eventually capture the early leadership in Group A (1-0).

Ava Fajardo led the way with a game-high 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals for an efficiency rating of 22.0.

Ryan Nair finished with 12 points while Alyssia Palma supplied 10 markers as the two combined for 10 of the team's 72 total rebounds.

The Philippines led by as many as 41 points in the victory that saw them steal the ball 22 times, leading to 34 turnovers for the opposing side which they scored 26 off.

Tsz Ching Kam had 14 points while Yan Ting Tai added 11 for Hong Kong.

Jordan beat Maldives

Jordan did more than protecting homecourt as they dealt the returning Maldives a 94-32 beatdown to conclude the first day of the Division B competitions.

The home team actually faced some stiff competition from their foes in the early goings until Hoor Alkarain sparked a run for a 22-8 lead before the first quarter ended.

It proved to be the start of a one-sided show as the Jordanians capitalized on their strength inside to eventually join the Philippines on top of the Group A standings.

Alkarain led Jordan with 18 points. Layan Al-Masarweh supplied 13 points while Zain Alkarain chimed in 10 markers. The trio collected 6 rebounds each, combining for 18 of the team's 65 boards. Salma Najjar had the most caroms in the squad with 10 to her name.

Mariyam Kyleen Shirhan, meanwhile, had 12 points for Maldives.

Daily highs
Efficiency: 31.0, Zahra Zarei (IRI)
Points: 20, Ke Xin Lee (MAS)
Rebounds: 12, Ariel Star De La O (PHI)
Assists: 11, Zahra Zarei (IRI)
Steals: 4, Ava Fajardo (PHI); Layan Al-Masarweh (JOR); Fatemeh Jafari (IRI); Ryan Nair (PHI); Zahra Zahei (IRI)
Blocks: 3, Wan Ki Mak (HKG) 

Results
Group A
Philippines def. Hong Kong, 79-40
Jordan def. Maldives, 94-32

Group B
Iran def. Malaysia, 80-74

FIBA