TEHRAN (FIBA U19 World Championship 2017) - Iran picked up just one victory at the FIBA U19 World Championship 2015 and finished in 14th place. The country's basketball leaders hope an increase in preparation will yield better results at this summer’s U19 spectacle in Cairo.

"At the FIBA U19 World Championship 2015 in Crete we lost all of our group games. Part of that dismal showing was the lack of preparation," Iran Basketball Federation Secretary General Ali Towfigh said. "Another reason why that happened is because most of the players were not getting any minutes in the Iranian Super League. They needed time to get used to the rhythm and by the time they did, it was already very late."

Iran's only win came in the Classification 13-16 against China and the lowlight had to have been the 86-36 loss in the final group game against Croatia in which the Iranians scored just 12 points in the second half. In fact, Iran failed to score in double digits in six of the 28 quarters in the seven games.

After that championship, the federation created a five-year youth basketball plan going forward to 2020 for different age groups.

"The main goal is to create a new golden generation of Iranian basketball players," Towfigh said.

Part of the program is to have players in the U16, U18 and U19 age groups practice at the end of every week at the Azadi gymnasium in the Iranian capital Tehran. The federation also agreed with the domestic league to give these young players more competitive action during the games.

"I’m sure this will help the players once they go out and compete outside of Iran," the secretary general said.

Towfigh said the Iranian U19 coaching staff currently has a pool of 45 players to consider for the tournament in Cairo from 1-9 July, including all of the players from the team that won the FIBA Asia U18 Championship last summer. The pool will be cut to 25 players in March.

Towfigh said this early work hopefully will result in a better performance in Cairo this summer.

"The reason our preparations started early is because we are taking this FIBA U19 World Championship very seriously. And if we prepare properly, I’m very much sure that we will return from Cairo with very positive results," Towfigh said.

The Iranians will be playing in their fifth U19 global spectacle, having finished 16th of 16 teams in 2003, 15th of 16 in 2009 and 11th of 16 nations in 2013. At Prague 2013, Iran beat Argentina twice in grabbing 11th place.

The reason our preparations started early is because we are taking this FIBA U19 World Championship very seriously. And if we prepare properly, I’m very much sure that we will return from Cairo with very positive results." - Towfigh

Towfigh said he was impressed with the mental toughness of the U18 team that won the continental title last summer, especially after having dropped games to Japan and Korea in the group stage as hosts.

"The U18 team was a very good team. Yes they lost twice in the group stage but they showed great character and willingness to overcome difficult teams," Towfigh said. 

After finishing fourth in the group stage, the hosts knocked off previously undefeated China in the Quarter-Finals and then got revenge wins over Korea and Japan in the Semi-Finals and Final, respectively, for the title.

That perseverance along with increased preparations might just lead Iran to a strong showing in Cairo - that is at least what the heads of basketball in Iran are hoping.

FIBA