AMMAN (Jordan) - Indonesia underlined their potential on opening day of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division B in Amman by sinking Kazakhstan, while frontrunners Lebanon had a lucky escape against Iran.

Kazakhstan has been installed as one of the most likely nations to push for promotion ahead of the tournament, but back by their noisy and triumphant fans in the Jordanian capital, Indonesia tore up the script.

They claimed a highly impressive 79-69 victory, founded on an outstanding 31 points and 15 rebounds from the naturalized Kim Pierre-Louis. But while her contribution was the undoubted headline, there was an eye-catching sub-plot of teamwork that delivered a first win in the competition for eight years.

Building a shock 20-point lead with some great work in the first-half, Indonesia looked shaky early in the last quarter as their advantage got trimmed down, but they held their nerve to finish the job.

That was mainly because there were some excellent cameos, with Henny Sutjiono netting 21 points, Agustin Elya Gradita Retong handing out 10 assists and also Gabriel Sophia with an all-action 11 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Meanwhile playing for the first time since at the event in almost 50 years, Iran almost caused a big upset as they showed they have got some serious game. In fact, they left the court feeling a sense of injustice and wondering what might have been after being edged out 66-64.

Throughout the game, Lebanon were left sweating on whether they would suffer an early and unexpected defeat after they started really poorly and allowed Iran to gain confidence with a brilliant jump start.

But they managed to dig out a precious success, benefitting from two huge three-point shots by Daniella Fayad and Lama Moukaddem inside the last two minutes which went a long way to getting them the victory.

Captain Rebecca Akl showed her leadership with 15 points and 12 assists, while Aida Bakhos kept Lebanon rolling in their leanest times of the game and eventually collected 17 points. Veteran Edna Eissaianjangi starred with 14 points and 13 boards in defeat, with Delarem Vakili top-scoring with 16 points. 

FIBA