ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Iran pulled away early on the way to dealing Saudi Arabia an 87-43 beatdown for a triumphant start to their FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 campaign, Sunday at the MBank Arena.
The young Team Melli took control in the opening period but it wasn't until the next frame where they'd break the game open, overpowering their foes, 25-10, toward a commanding 47-25 lead entering the break.
Four players of Coach Mohammad Sistani Badouei finished in double figures in the win, with Alireza Rashidi leading the pack with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a trio of threes.
Rashidi himself bannered the second-quarter pullaway, scoring seven in their 10-4 run to open the chapter for a 30-19 lead with about six minutes to go. The Saudis could never cut the gap to a single digit since.
Amir Reza Azari supplied 13 points and 9 rebounds plus 3 steals. Mohammad Sale Pakgohar delivered 12 points alongside 7 rebounds, while Bardiya Khosravi chipped in 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
Team Iran hauled down a total of 60 rebounds and dished out 23 assists in the victory, collecting as well 19 steals as the crew did a bit of everything on both ends of the floor that left Saudi Arabia overwhelmed.
Also triumphant in Group D are Japan after a 107-51 conquest of Kazakhstan.
The three-time medalists raced to a blazing 18-2 start into the match before finishing the first quarter owning a huge 31-11 lead, and they'd never let up since en route to joining Iran as the early winners of the pool.
Zen Hawkins led the Japanese with 23 points on 75-percent shooting from the field, missing just once from beyond the arc by going 3-of-4. Kento Kuroda made 14 points to lead the bench mob.
Keiji Koshi had 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists while Chussonjakku Shiratani tallied 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 6 of the team's 21 steals. Shusei Takahashi added 10 points also, together with 7 assists.
All 12 players of Coach Alejandro Martinez scored at least 3 points in the win and that's big thanks to their concerted effort to give touches to everyone, thus the 33 assists they finished with as a collective.
Team Japan also won the boards, 48-30, and forced the Kazakhs to commit 27 turnovers.
Both the winning teams will look to go 2-0 on Monday, September 1 at the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Complex. Japan will face Saudi at 11:30 local time, while Iran will test Kazakhstan afterward at 14:00 local time.
Japan and Iran are set to battle one another on Tuesday, September 2, and so it would be intriguing to see how tomorrow's clashes would turn out as their meeting could potentially be for the top seed in their group.
FIBA