TEHRAN (Iran) & MANAMA (Bahrain) - Kazakhstan stay undefeated with one of the biggest upsets yet in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers, while Syria claim an important - and their first - win.

Howling with the Wolves

Nikolay Bazhin pumped his fist in the air as he saw the referee signal possession for Kazakhstan as the ball went out of bounds. There were still 10 seconds left on the clock and it was only a one possession game, but Bazhin could feel it.

Here in Tehran, after losing by 32 points to Iran nearly 4 years ago, the Steppen Wolves were about to pull off one of their most impressive wins in recent memory.

When the final buzzer sounded, it was finally confirmed: Kazakhstan will be the only undefeated team left standing following a 73-69 win over Iran.

The final score by itself is a shocking upset as Iran are the 23^rd ranked team in the world according to the FIBA World Ranking Men compared to Kazakhstan who are ranked 43 spots lower. Again, this was a game played in Iran, where the home team has proven to be tough to beat.

Moreover, this didn’t seem like a game that Kazakhstan had control of, at least in the later parts of the game. They were trailing by 13 points with 1:20 minutes left in the third quarter, the biggest deficit in the game. Iran were coasting on the superb performance of Mohammad Jamshidi, who finished the game with 32 points.

But suddenly, the home team got cold.

For nearly a 7-minute stretch all the way up until the middle of the fourth quarter, Iran failed to score a single point, while Kazakhstan poured in the points led by a barrage of three-pointers from Nikolay Bazhin. The 1.95m (6’5”) forward shot only 1-8 from beyond the arc in Window 1, but finished this game with 6 three-pointers on 12 attempts.

By the time Iran got back on the scoreboard, Kazakhstan had already scored 15 unanswered points to claim the lead. The lead switched hands one more time, before the Steppen Wolves went ahead for good.

Bazhin continues to be one of Kazakhstan’s most impressive players, leading the team with 23 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. A much need boost that Kazakhstan also got in this game was the return of Anthony Clemmons to the lineup. Clemmons did not play in the first window, but quickly reminded everyone how important he was with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The win is Kazakhstan’s third straight victory in the Asian Qualifiers and gives the Steppen Wolves the seat at the top of the standings. They had lost twice to Iran at the World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers, including a 21-point loss in Kazakhstan 4 years ago almost to this exact date. Aside from being one of the biggest upsets of the Asian Qualifiers, Kazakhstan still take this as a bit of revenge as well.

The Steppen Wolves' quest to stay undefeated continues on February 27 in Manama when they face Bahrain at 19:00 GMT +3.

Surging Syria

Syria showed right from the start of the game that they meant business, setting the tone with a large lead early on and never letting go.

After holding Bahrain to only 7 points in the first quarter and a total of 19 points in the first half, Syria cruised the rest of the way to win, 80-64.

Amir Hinton led all scorers at the end of Window 1 with 32.5 points per game, and in his return for Window 2, he didn’t disappoint with another big game of 36 points to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

It was far from a one man effort as Syria also got contributions from Kemal Canbolat, Hani Adribe, Nadim Issa, and Anthouny Bakar who all scored at least 7 points each.  Canbolat, in particular, also had 1 rebounds to his name. Syria as a team got nearly everything they wanted on offense, shooting 45.6 percent from the floor after cooling down in the second half

On the other end, Bahrain struggled to get things going and shot only 33.9 percent. Three players scored in double-digits led by Maitham Isa who had 18 points.

The win is Syria’s first of the Asian Qualifiers and first with Javier Juarez as head coach. This puts them at an advantage over Bahrain, who drop to last place in the standings of Group D and stay winless.

Syria now have the momentum in their favor heading into a crucial matchup against Iran on February 27 in Tehran at17:00 GMT +3:30.

FIBA