AMMAN (WABA Championship 2017) - Iran have romped past their first two assignments in the West Asia Basketball Association (WABA) Championship 2017, but they are far from done. The defending champions have no plans of relinquishing their crown, though they know a truly tough test lies ahead in their critical clash against regional rivals Lebanon.

Like Team Melli, the Cedars have been unscathed so far, winning their first two contests. Lebanon have looked very sharp in this tournament, thanks in no small part to the stellar play of veteran Elie Stephan, rising star Wael Arakji and living legend Fadi El Khatib.

Iran coach Mehran Hatami is aware of Lebanon's depth, but he also knows that his own squad can compete on equal footing.

"They're a good team with a lot of experience, but I believe in my players," Hatami said after his team beat Syria. "We have experienced players and young ones, too, who are so motivated to do well."

The 52-year-old Hatami is right. Iran have been nothing short of dominant so far, beating opponents by an average of 46.5 points. They blasted Palestine on Day 1, 114-65, and outclassed Syria on Day 2, 92-48.

Even seasoned power forward Oshin Sahakian has been impressed by his team's standing thus far, noting how his younger teammates have been able to build a lot of confidence.

"All the players gave their best in the two first games, and that has given us confidence," Sahakian said. "Now we are completely ready to go forward."

One of the reasons for Iran's unbeaten start in this competition has been Behnam Yakhchali. The 21-year-old has been one of Team Melli's deadliest scorers. He dropped 21 points in 36 minutes against Palestine before hitting a dozen points in 24 minutes as Iran clobbered Syria. He has been red hot from long distance, averaging 4 three-pointers per outing and hitting more than 57% of his attempts from beyond the arc. He, too, is a little wary of the Lebanese threat, but even that won't dampen his resolve to reach his main goal, which is to retain the WABA title.

"We know Lebanon are a great team that have very experienced players," Yakhchali explained. "But we want to defend our title, and we want to win every game."

In order to do that, coach Hatami has one simple formula - play great defense. He knows Iran have been pretty good on that side of the ball so far - they are currently tied with, you guessed it, Lebanon for tops in steals (13.5 per game) - and they have limited their opponents to only 56.5 points per game (currently the stingiest defense in the tournament).

Against a hotshot team like the Cedars who have a wealth of weapons and a no-nonsense coach like Joe Moujaes, however, Hatami doesn't want to take any chances.

"We played good defense in the first two games, but we should be better than this because next we have a very tough game against Lebanon." - Mehran Hatami

The victors between Iran and Lebanon will keep their spot at the top of the ladder and are virtually assured of at least a top three finish in West Asia's premier basketball competition.

FIBA