Providing a strong sense of deja vu, India’s Young Cagers were out-muscled, out-rebounded and out-classed by visiting Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) in their first home game of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
Having lost meekly to Kazakhstan on February 26, the pressure was on India to improve their intensity against traditional Asian powerhouse Iran.
India’s fighting first half
To India’s credit, the players gave it all they had in the first half, and especially in the opening quarter was able to match Iran, with a score of 20-23.
However, midway through the second quarter, Iran started to pull away, opening up a 29-22 lead.
India was hurt by center Palpreet Singh Brar’s foul trouble, and its relatively better outside shooting and transition scoring from the starting frame, too dried up in the second period.
India was unable to pressure Iran in the paint, so much so that India’s first free throw attempts came at the 5:26 mark in Q2.
By this time however, Iran, had begun punishing India on the offensive glass.
At half-time Iran led 42-32, hinting at ominous signs ahead.
Iran’s rebounding dominance
The second half started for India on a bright note, with a couple of steals by India. But this proved to be a false dawn, as Iran’s bully ball on the boards relentlessly continued.
Iran enjoyed a whopping 47-24 rebounding advantage, including a 20-7 mismatch on the offensive end. This in turn led to a lopsided 22-2 differential in second chance points, effectively sealing the 53-86 win for the visitors.
India (Pranav Prince 11 pts) lost to Iran (Behnam Yakhchali 15 pts, Mohammad Amini 14 pts, Salar Monji 14 pts) 53-86 [20-23, 12-19, 12-25, 9-19]
India’s Upcoming Games
India is now down 0-2, having lost both its opening window games.
In the second window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers, India will face Qatar on November 22, followed by the home leg game against Kazakhstan on November 25.
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Now we have to wait till Nov