AHMEDABAD (India) - Iran completed the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 Quarter-Finals picture following an 83-66 conquest of hosts India before a partisan crowd at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium, Thursday night.
Amid the noise made by the home fans in support of their favorites, Team Melli stayed the course, taking control early before pulling away for good in the middle chapters to eventually finalize the 'Magic Eight' cast.
The contenders from WABA went on a 49-30 assault in the second and third quarters to build a 70-46 lead, arming themselves with a cushion good enough to propel themselves into the next round of the knockouts.
The three-time champions will be taking on no less than the defending titlists Australia tomorrow, locking horns with an Emus team that's yet to be beaten in the tournament after a clean 3-0 sweep of Group A.
Six players scored in double figures for Iran, with Kamal Khaledi leading the pack with 23 points, 12 of which he made during the aforementioned periods. He knocked down a total of six triples in 27 minutes of play.
Soheyl Soleyman made 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Amir Reza Azari and Shamsi Anbouhi had 11 apiece and combined for 17 rebounds, while Kianmehr Hasankiadeh and Mohammad Safa Behnia added 10 each.
The Iranians hit a total of 13 triples in the win although it was by no means an easy outing all throughout.
India still tried to make a comeback during the deciding period and managed to trim the gap to just 13, 79-66, behind Ansh Tomer with less than three minutes left, but the visitors were quick to restore order.
Shortly after that bucket, Hasankiadeh converted inside - courtesy of an Anbouhi assist - to widen the spread back to 15 points, before Behnia nailed a fallaway jumper with about 1:44 left, all but sealing the deal.
Piyush Choudhary led India with 19 points alongside 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Aakash Iyappan made 14 points, while Arman chipped in 12 points as they did what they could while missing a total of four players.
The SABA champions bowed out with a 1-3 record overall.
FIBA