CHANGSHA-HUNAN (2015 FIBA Asia Championship) - Defending champions Iran recorded their fourth win in a row in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship after blowing out lowly Hong Kong, 111-56.

The game started off relatively tight, with Hong Kong able to stay within striking distance of Iran in the first quarter. Team Melli, however, picked things up in the second period and never looked back.

The wingman duo of Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and Mohammad Jamshidi led the way for the dominant Iranians, who are expected to sweep Group E and march on unfettered into the Quarter-Finals. In all, five Iran players scored 10 or more points.

Hong Kong entered this game tremendous underdogs, and despite a promising start, weren’t really able to mount a serious challenge. Lee Ki, Chan Siu Wing, and Duncan Reid paced them by scoring 46 points of the team’s total.

Turning Point: Iran scored the first 17 points of the second quarter, and that increased their lead from a precarious 8 points to an insurmountable 25. There was no coming back for Hong Kong afterwards.

Stats Don't Lie: Iran’s size proved to be too much for Hong Kong. Coach Dirk Bauermann’s wards outworked the Hong Kongers on the glass, 55-25, and outscored them in the shaded lane, 50-22. Most of those, of course, came from the inside forays of Oshin Sahakian, Asghar Kardoust, and Mohammad Hassanzadeh.

Game Hero: Mohammad Jamshidi was splendid in this one, dropping 22 points on the strength of 8-of-11 field goal shooting. He also drained 4 triples, grabbed 3 rebounds and handed out 3 assists in the win.

The Bottom Line: Iran were not expected to encounter trouble in this game, and that was generally the story of the match. Playing time was evenly distributed for Iran, which is preparing for a pivotal tussle with the Philippines tomorrow. Hong Kong still have a very slight chance of making it to the next round, but they need to win both of their remaining games and hope the other teams falter as well.

FIBA