Iran national team 2012

[rikhardur]

Slovenian Memi Bečirovič is the new coach of the NT.

[Buran]

24 players have been invited to the National team in preparation for next month's West Asian Championship games in Jordan.

Hamed Haddadi, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Hamed Afaq, Mehdi Kamrani, Farid Aslani, Mousa Nabipour, Roozbeh Arghavan, Reza Lotfi, Mohammad Hassanzadeh, Asghar Kardoust, Javad Davari,Majid Ghassemzadeh , Saeed Davarpanah, Saman Veisi, Mehrad Atashi, Mohammad Jamshidi, Oshin Sahakyan, Aren Davoodi, Ali Baheran, Mohammad Akbari, Hamed Sohrabnezhad, Amir Seddighi, Mohammad Reza Khabazan and Arslan Kazemi.

http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1608346

[Khalid80]

Iran call up 20 players for preliminary training for the Stankovic Cup (http://www.fibaasia.net/NewsDetails.aspx?id=2432)

Player List:

Hamed Haddadi, Arsalan Kazemi, Samad Bahrami, Mehdi Kamrani, Hamed Afagh, Farid Aslani, Reza Lotfi, Saeed Davarpanah, Mehrad Atashi, Aren Davoudi, Oshin Sahakian, Farhad Saboori, Jaber Rouzbehani, Javad Davari, Amirhosein Tatari, Mohammadreza Khabazan, Ruzbeh Arghavan, Mohammad Jamshidi, Asghar Kardoust, Mohammad Hassanzadeh.

[JGX]

Iran (missing a lot of players) loses 70-41 to Germany:
http://www.tbf.org.tr/adidasistanbulcup/adidasistanbulcup2012.nsf/0/76E1A8BD674FB8A9C225733D0044F148?OpenDocument

[chacharko]

Iran (missing a lot of players) loses 70-41 to Germany:
http://www.tbf.org.tr/adidasistanbulcup/adidasistanbulcup2012.nsf/0/76E1A8BD674FB8A9C225733D0044F148?OpenDocument

Will they play against Finland with the same squad?

[all_about]

We showed Iran that we can beat them.

[behzadir]

We showed Iran that we can beat them.

You mean the Mahram club not the National Team right dude?

[mohsena2631]

Iran's possible roster for FIBA Asia Cup

Samad Nikkhah
Hamed Afagh
Aren Davoudi
Oshin Sahakian
Asghar Kardoust
Rouzbeh Arghavan
Farid Aslani
Mohammad Jamshidi
Mohammad Zare'ei
Younes Lalehzadeh
Meisam Mirzaei
Amir Seddighi

They have 3 more players in the camp from the junior team (Yakhchali, Mashayekhi and Forootan)

Kamrani and Nabipour are injured, Veisi withdrew from the team. but where is Davari ? :confused: also why they didn't invite Hassanzadeh ! (injury ?) even Davarpanah

[behzadir]

Iran's possible roster for FIBA Asia Cup

Samad Nikkhah
Hamed Afagh
Aren Davoudi
Oshin Sahakian
Asghar Kardoust
Rouzbeh Arghavan
Farid Aslani
Mohammad Jamshidi
Mohammad Zare'ei
Younes Lalehzadeh
Meisam Mirzaei
Amir Seddighi

They have 3 more players in the camp from the junior team (Yakhchali, Mashayekhi and Forootan)

Kamrani and Nabipour are injured, Veisi withdrew from the team. but where is Davari ? :confused: also why they didn't invite Hassanzadeh ! (injury ?) even Davarpanah

Davari is dealing with some back problems for some months now so that's why he is out of the roster. About Hasanzadeh i think his problems regarding military issues for not letting him leave the country is still lagging there and couldn't be solved in a week,so that's probably why he isn't included. About Davarpanah i'm pretty surprised. He is surely better than Mirzaei,Lalehzadeh and Zare'ei. The most important question to me is where the hell is Reza Lotfi?? He was becoming quite a player in these 2 years

[mohsena2631]

Davari is dealing with some back problems for some months now so that's why he is out of the roster. About Hasanzadeh i think his problems regarding military issues for not letting him leave the country is still lagging there and couldn't be solved in a week,so that's probably why he isn't included. About Davarpanah i'm pretty surprised. He is surely better than Mirzaei,Lalehzadeh and Zare'ei. The most important question to me is where the hell is Reza Lotfi?? He was becoming quite a player in these 2 years

:) thanks bro, didn't know about Davari's injury.

but Hassanzadeh and Davarpanah weren't even in first list ! so I think there is another problem here.

I hope Becir won't play in 5-6 players for the entire tournament. that's what I hate about Matic.

[JAMSKIE]

Davari is dealing with some back problems for some months now so that's why he is out of the roster. About Hasanzadeh i think his problems regarding military issues for not letting him leave the country is still lagging there and couldn't be solved in a week,so that's probably why he isn't included. About Davarpanah i'm pretty surprised. He is surely better than Mirzaei,Lalehzadeh and Zare'ei. The most important question to me is where the hell is Reza Lotfi?? He was becoming quite a player in these 2 years

I would like to ask sir, where is Amir Amini? I haven't seen him play for your national team for some time now. I think he's a good point guard, not to mention that he's a tall point guard.

[behzadir]

:) thanks bro, didn't know about Davari's injury.

but Hassanzadeh and Davarpanah weren't even in first list ! so I think there is another problem here.

I hope Becir won't play in 5-6 players for the entire tournament. that's what I hate about Matic.

Your welcome bro, Davari needed the rest i guess, happy he's forced to have one!

I too hope Becir uses a much wider rotation in this tournament as this is a great test for the national team

[behzadir]

Well Amir Amini has been digressing dramatically in these 4 years. His only advantage above other PG's was his height that he couldn't utilize because of his poor ball handling. He is a great defensive player but on offense he has been less-productive each year going by.

[JAMSKIE]

Well Amir Amini has been digressing dramatically in these 4 years. His only advantage above other PG's was his height that he couldn't utilize because of his poor ball handling. He is a great defensive player but on offense he has been less-productive each year going by.

Tenx for the info sir. Well talking about retrogressing, I notice ( & some basketball observers also have noticed) that Iran NT's top point guard Mahdi Kamrani isn't what he used to be. I mean, just a few years ago, Kamrani used to be a dead-shot from the outside & a scoring threat as well. He seems to have deteriorated in the past 2 years or so. Being the No.1 point guard, his orchestration & play-making skills are still there, the smarts & decision making haven't ceased, but his once solid offensive game seem to have deserted him.

One thing I also notice about Iran NT is that the starters, Samad Nikkah Bahrami, Hamed Afagh, Oshin Sahakian & Mahdi Kamrani usually logged major minutes in every game, sometimes they even play without relief. And this to think that there are many potential talents in the Iranian national pool. I think in international tournaments where scheduled of the games is hectic, phasing of players is crucial.

[behzadir]

Tenx for the info sir. Well talking about retrogressing, I notice ( & some basketball observers also have noticed) that Iran NT's top point guard Mahdi Kamrani isn't what he used to be. I mean, just a few years ago, Kamrani used to be a dead-shot from the outside & a scoring threat as well. He seems to have deteriorated in the past 2 years or so. Being the No.1 point guard, his orchestration & play-making skills are still there, the smarts & decision making haven't ceased, but his once solid offensive game seem to have deserted him.

One thing I also notice about Iran NT is that the starters, Samad Nikkah Bahrami, Hamed Afagh, Oshin Sahakian & Mahdi Kamrani usually logged major minutes in every game, sometimes they even play without relief. And this to think that there are many potential talents in the Iranian national pool. I think in international tournaments where scheduled of the games is hectic, phasing of players is crucial.


I absolutely agree with you on both issues you brought up. Well about Kamrani i guess age and injury has finally caught up with him and has limited him on his self creating offense. More importantly he is less active on defense where he used to pressure the ball so much that led to TO's by opponents PG's. All in all yes he is no longer the player that can play 33+ mins a game and still be clutch. I think with Aren Davoud and Sajjad Mashayekhi's improvement we will see a more deep rotation in that position.

Yes unfortunately Matic had this kinda ideology about the game which really hurt our youth players gaining experience procedure. He was mainly focusing on getting results,i don't know maybe he was forced to do so by the federation. But whether it took the starting 5 to play the whole game or not he was going a t it to get the final result. Unfortunately this is pretty much the case for west asian teams. Lebanon and Jordan usually do the same too.

[mohsena2631]

Iran's possible roster for FIBA Asia Cup

Samad Nikkhah
Hamed Afagh
Aren Davoudi
Oshin Sahakian
Asghar Kardoust
Rouzbeh Arghavan
Farid Aslani
Mohammad Jamshidi
Mohammad Zare'ei
Younes Lalehzadeh
Meisam Mirzaei
Amir Seddighi

They have 3 more players in the camp from the junior team (Yakhchali, Mashayekhi and Forootan)


Lalehzadeh, Zareei and Mirzaei are out ! 3 junior team members in !

Final Roster (official)

Samad Nikkhah
Hamed Afagh
Aren Davoudi
Oshin Sahakian
Asghar Kardoust
Rouzbeh Arghavan
Farid Aslani
Mohammad Jamshidi
Amir Seddighi
Sajjad Mashayekhi
Saleh Foroutan
Behnam Yakhchali

I think it's tooo early for these kids to play in senior team. I know FIBA Asia Cup isn't really important and it's really good to have some young players in the squad but they are too young ! they won't help Iran NT next year. One day for sure, but not at this young age, not in 2013. even Seddighi is still too young. Actually this is a 8 man team. even Aslani and Jamshidi are playing their first year with the national team. (even though they both deserve it)

[reamily]

Lalehzadeh, Zareei and Mirzaei are out ! 3 junior team members in !

Final Roster (official)

Samad Nikkhah
Hamed Afagh
Aren Davoudi
Oshin Sahakian
Asghar Kardoust
Rouzbeh Arghavan
Farid Aslani
Mohammad Jamshidi
Amir Seddighi
Sajjad Mashayekhi
Saleh Foroutan
Behnam Yakhchali

I think it's tooo early for these kids to play in senior team. I know FIBA Asia Cup isn't really important and it's really good to have some young players in the squad but they are too young ! they won't help Iran NT next year. One day for sure, but not at this young age, not in 2013. even Seddighi is still too young. Actually this is a 8 man team. even Aslani and Jamshidi are playing their first year with the national team. (even though they both deserve it)
I think its for the better...(you are 9 man strong already for 2013)

But at least 3 would be not strong enough to help iran in 2015

[Buran]

Salam Mohsen! haven't been following the league and players as closely as I should have, how could we go to Japan without any Shirazi on the roster ;)
what happened to Hasanzadeh and Shirjang? do they have military service issues or are they not doing a good job?
it is actually a bit disappointing that there are no players on the roster from the 2008 U-18 Asian champion team as far as I can tell!



Lalehzadeh, Zareei and Mirzaei are out ! 3 junior team members in !

Final Roster (official)

Samad Nikkhah
Hamed Afagh
Aren Davoudi
Oshin Sahakian
Asghar Kardoust
Rouzbeh Arghavan
Farid Aslani
Mohammad Jamshidi
Amir Seddighi
Sajjad Mashayekhi
Saleh Foroutan
Behnam Yakhchali

I think it's tooo early for these kids to play in senior team. I know FIBA Asia Cup isn't really important and it's really good to have some young players in the squad but they are too young ! they won't help Iran NT next year. One day for sure, but not at this young age, not in 2013. even Seddighi is still too young. Actually this is a 8 man team. even Aslani and Jamshidi are playing their first year with the national team. (even though they both deserve it)

[mohsena2631]

Salam Mohsen! haven't been following the league and players as closely as I should have, how could we go to Japan without any Shirazi on the roster ;)
what happened to Hasanzadeh and Shirjang? do they have military service issues or are they not doing a good job?
it is actually a bit disappointing that there are no players on the roster from the 2008 U-18 Asian champion team as far as I can tell!

Salam :)

We already discussed about Hassanzadeh, technically he deserved to be in this team. I have no idea about Shirjang. he wasn't very good this year but they should invite him at least for the first camp but they didn't !

good point, but we have one player from that team (M. Jamshidi) but where is the rest ? some of them wasted their time on Zob Ahan's bench (Amjad, Salmani, Honarmand, Zare) and I know Farman and Derboghosian are living in the states. unfortunately from that team only Jamshidi, Shirjang and Hassanzadeh played regularly in the Super League.

[Buran]

Amjad and Salmani both played well in 2008 if I remember correctly. too bad we are not hearing more from them at the National level.
I just dug out some information on Farbod Farman and Sooren Derboghosian, they are both playing in NJCAA and not NCAA and as far as stats are concerned, they both are not putting big numbers on the board, unless I missed something. Sooren plays for Glendale community college and I was surprised to see Zorik Isajanian in the coaching staff! he's the special assistant coach on the team.
http://glendale.edu/modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=12942
http://wp.missouristate.edu/Grizzly/bb/FarbodFarman.htm


Salam :)

We already discussed about Hassanzadeh, technically he deserved to be in this team. I have no idea about Shirjang. he wasn't very good this year but they should invite him at least for the first camp but they didn't !

good point, but we have one player from that team (M. Jamshidi) but where is the rest ? some of them wasted their time on Zob Ahan's bench (Amjad, Salmani, Honarmand, Zare) and I know Farman and Derboghosian are living in the states. unfortunately from that team only Jamshidi, Shirjang and Hassanzadeh played regularly in the Super League.

[mohsena2631]

Kamrani and Nabipour are injured, Veisi withdrew from the team. but where is Davari ? :confused: also why they didn't invite Hassanzadeh ! (injury ?) even Davarpanah

Kamrani is not injured, according to himself, he just took a break from the national team this summer.

[mohsena2631]

Iran beat Qatar in overtime today. first half was one of our worst ever match and Qatar had 19pts advantage but they improved big time in second half and won the game. they could win the game in regular time but youngster Saleh Foroutan missed a very easy basket in last minute (he went for a dunk and missed it) which helped Qatar to came back to the game and tied the game in very last second.

Aren Davoudi is injured and at least he will miss the preliminary round ! without him, Kamrani, Davari and Veisi we had to play with Farid Aslani as starting PG ! he was terrible in first half, Becirovic even used Mashayekhi for some minutes and he was bad too (no surprise, he is too young) Aslani played much better in second half. same goes to Jamshidi and Arghavan. but still Samad and Afagh saved the game for Iran. Oshin got in foul trouble early which forced Becirovic to use Foroutan for 10 minutes !

PS: "Shabake Varzesh" broadcasts all Iran matches but It's almost torture to watch game with Abolhassani as commentator ! he said stupid things for whole 45 minutes ! he said a lot of nonsense about Becirovic and how bad he is ! (stupid ! too early to judge him) and for 30 minutes he was saying "Where is Aren ? Why he is not playing ?" finally the other guy in studio told him about Aren's injury ! and again for 5 minutes he was blaming Becirovic for playing Foroutan in crucial minutes ! (he had no other choice since Oshin was fouled out and he didn't want to play with 2 centers)

[Khalid80]

Iran beat Qatar in overtime today. first half was one of our worst ever match and Qatar had 19pts advantage but they improved big time in second half and won the game. they could win the game in regular time but youngster Saleh Foroutan missed a very easy basket in last minute (he went for a dunk and missed it) which helped Qatar to came back to the game and tied the game in very last second.

Aren Davoudi is injured and at least he will miss the preliminary round ! without him, Kamrani, Davari and Veisi we had to play with Farid Aslani as starting PG ! he was terrible in first half, Becirovic even used Mashayekhi for some minutes and he was bad too (no surprise, he is too young) Aslani played much better in second half. same goes to Jamshidi and Arghavan. but still Samad and Afagh saved the game for Iran. Oshin got in foul trouble early which forced Becirovic to use Foroutan for 10 minutes !

PS: "Shabake Varzesh" broadcasts all Iran matches but It's almost torture to watch game with Abolhassani as commentator ! he said stupid things for whole 45 minutes ! he said a lot of nonsense about Becirovic and how bad he is ! (stupid ! too early to judge him) and for 30 minutes he was saying "Where is Aren ? Why he is not playing ?" finally the other guy in studio told him about Aren's injury ! and again for 5 minutes he was blaming Becirovic for playing Foroutan in crucial minutes ! (he had no other choice since Oshin was fouled out and he didn't want to play with 2 centers)

I think today's game for Iran was a good game for their youngsters to gain experience like Saleh Foroutannik, Sajjad Mashayekhi, Behnam Yakhchali and Amir Sedighi.

If Saleh hadn't missed that dunk I don't think the game would have went into OT and the Iranian team would have won by the end of regulation... Anyways it's great to see them being able to come back from that 19 point deficit after half time against a veteran old Qatari team.

[Ador Cruzado]

Iran beat Qatar in overtime today. first half was one of our worst ever match and Qatar had 19pts advantage but they improved big time in second half and won the game. they could win the game in regular time but youngster Saleh Foroutan missed a very easy basket in last minute (he went for a dunk and missed it) which helped Qatar to came back to the game and tied the game in very last second.

Aren Davoudi is injured and at least he will miss the preliminary round ! without him, Kamrani, Davari and Veisi we had to play with Farid Aslani as starting PG ! he was terrible in first half, Becirovic even used Mashayekhi for some minutes and he was bad too (no surprise, he is too young) Aslani played much better in second half. same goes to Jamshidi and Arghavan. but still Samad and Afagh saved the game for Iran. Oshin got in foul trouble early which forced Becirovic to use Foroutan for 10 minutes !

PS: "Shabake Varzesh" broadcasts all Iran matches but It's almost torture to watch game with Abolhassani as commentator ! he said stupid things for whole 45 minutes ! he said a lot of nonsense about Becirovic and how bad he is ! (stupid ! too early to judge him) and for 30 minutes he was saying "Where is Aren ? Why he is not playing ?" finally the other guy in studio told him about Aren's injury ! and again for 5 minutes he was blaming Becirovic for playing Foroutan in crucial minutes ! (he had no other choice since Oshin was fouled out and he didn't want to play with 2 centers)
Is it true that Iran was warned during the half-time break that they should play their real game?

[mohsena2631]

Is it true that Iran was warned during the half-time break that they should play their real game?

WTF ?! Who says that ? what's the source ? One must be truly stupid to say such a thing ! yeah Coach probably warned his players to play better.

Half of the team are new, coach is new and unfamiliar with Asian Basketball (where every single touch is a foul). They played bad in first half (after playing bad against India in first game) but when Qataris got tired they played better in second half, as simple as that. Things like this happens everyday.

[behzadir]

Pathetic game overall...

I'm starting to get more and more nervous about the post Haddadi era. He is so damn dominant down there for the team.

[Buran]

didn't enjoy watching this game. Once again Samad bailed them out, Jamshidi had some good moments, Oshin and Afagh didn't play well especially Oshin (Afagh became the Afagh we know towards the end). the youngsters didn't impress, although one shouldn't expect much from them. Mashayekhi probably had a better game than Foroutan,he looked a bit intimidated. I missed the moments Yakhchali was playing. Hope they get more playing time to boost their confidence. they should have also brought Dalirzahan in my opinion. It looked like they were trying to get the Qataris off-guard and score in transition and take advantage of the fact that they were a bit slow. Arghavan also didn't have a good first half but played better in the second, it was interesting that Becirovic decided to go with Arghavan and not Kardoust for C during the last minutes of the last quarter.
from now on I guess Asian teams are going to take this tournament more seriously now that the name has changed to Asia Cup.

[mohsena2631]

again the same scenario ! bad first half, good second half.

Davoudi played in second half and probably he was the main reason for the win, (even though he was limping !) and looks like Becirovic prefer Arghavan over Kardoust !

[reamily]

Kardoust looks slow with the running game...

[Buran]

I like Kardoust, most of the time he’s a reliable player and finds his way to the basket and a solid defender for most part, he’s not as mobile as Haddadi(or Arghavan), but you can still count on him most of the time, he’s also a great FT shooter (better than a lot of our F & Gs ) and that’s a great asset for a C player, which go to the line more frequently. But, he also loses focus and complains to the refs a lot and that hasn’t changed in the last few years, I think this was what made Becirovic furious in the first half, at some point he didn’t score, started complaining to the refs, didn’t get back on time and CT scored in transition, Becirovic got a time out slammed his clipboard on the ground and started lecturing Kardoust very loudly :) we didn’t see a whole lot of Kardoust from that point on.
Arghavan also has the potential in my opinion, I can see him getting better with experience and this is a good place for him to gain that experience. He should work on his screen setups, he starts walking to block the defender and 1 or 2 of his fouls in each game come from moving screens.
At some point in the first game Becirovic was experimenting with Kardoust and Arghavan being on the field at the same time, that was when Oshin wasn’t having a good game, but eventually decided to stick with just one of them on the field. If Oshin gets into foul trouble and we are playing a large and slow team (not JP or PH) we might see that again.

[Lester Bo McCalebb]

I like Kardoust, most of the time he’s a reliable player and finds his way to the basket and a solid defender for most part, he’s not as mobile as Haddadi(or Arghavan), but you can still count on him most of the time, he’s also a great FT shooter (better than a lot of our F & Gs ) and that’s a great asset for a C player, which go to the line more frequently. But, he also loses focus and complains to the refs a lot and that hasn’t changed in the last few years, I think this was what made Becirovic furious in the first half, at some point he didn’t score, started complaining to the refs, didn’t get back on time and CT scored in transition, Becirovic got a time out slammed his clipboard on the ground and started lecturing Kardoust very loudly :) we didn’t see a whole lot of Kardoust from that point on.
Arghavan also has the potential in my opinion, I can see him getting better with experience and this is a good place for him to gain that experience. He should work on his screen setups, he starts walking to block the defender and 1 or 2 of his fouls in each game come from moving screens.
At some point in the first game Becirovic was experimenting with Kardoust and Arghavan being on the field at the same time, that was when Oshin wasn’t having a good game, but eventually decided to stick with just one of them on the field. If Oshin gets into foul trouble and we are playing a large and slow team (not JP or PH) we might see that again.

Do you think this Iran national team is team B?

[Buran]

Do you think this Iran national team is team B?

I wouldn't call it B team, but at the same time it's also not the A team. 5 players are from the 2011 Asian championship squad: Afagh, Saakian, Nikkhah-Bahrami, Davoudi & Kardoust (not all are starters), the rest are younger players who are here for the experience.

[mohsena2631]

again the same scenario ! bad first half, good second half.


again !

ha ha, today Kardoust was the man in second half :D I wonder how many open shots Afagh missed today ! I can't remember such a bad shooting game from him.

[behzadir]

Better game compared to those against Qatar and CT. Japan was better than both teams i mentioned and they were shooting great from the perimeter.

I'm confused that do we really play awful in the first have due to our laziness and lack of hustle or does Becir and Co really analyze teams great in the break between half's? I think the first reason plays a bigger role in the score we see...

[Buran]

again !

ha ha, today Kardoust was the man in second half :D I wonder how many open shots Afagh missed today ! I can't remember such a bad shooting game from him.

Afagh did miss a lot of shots with no defender in sight around him, maybe he needs to start wearing his black bicep band again to get his touch back :)

[mohsena2631]

Afagh did miss a lot of shots with no defender in sight around him, maybe he needs to start wearing his black bicep band again to get his touch back :)

lol :D you know they aren't in good shape, I'm not surprised at all. actually I was expecting them to lose at least one game in preliminary round. they trained only 10 days for this tournament with Becirovic. I think even our federation had no plan for this FIBA Asia Cup, you can understand it by looking at the roster. It doesn't make sense, if we want to win the cup why we have some 17/18/19 yo players ! and if it's just for experience what the hell is Samad doing ! ;) It's really good to have young players in NT but these players still can play with U18 team. I prefer having players like Salmani, Hassanzadeh and Shirjang on the bench.

But since we are here, I hope they win the next two games and qualify directly to the next Asian Championships. back in 2011 playing in WABA Qualification tournament hurt our preparations badly, also Oshin broke his hand and never fully recovered for 2011 Asians

[mohsena2631]

Samad after today game
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Becirovic after UZB game
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Samad and Becirovic, press conference after Japan game
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Aren - Japan game
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Samad - Taiwan game
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Becirovic - Qatar game
kRDySux-R38

[Buran]

lol :D you know they aren't in good shape, I'm not surprised at all. actually I was expecting them to lose at least one game in preliminary round. they trained only 10 days for this tournament with Becirovic. I think even our federation had no plan for this FIBA Asia Cup, you can understand it by looking at the roster. It doesn't make sense, if we want to win the cup why we have some 17/18/19 yo players ! and if it's just for experience what the hell is Samad doing ! ;) It's really good to have young players in NT but these players still can play with U18 team. I prefer having players like Salmani, Hassanzadeh and Shirjang on the bench.

But since we are here, I hope they win the next two games and qualify directly to the next Asian Championships. back in 2011 playing in WABA Qualification tournament hurt our preparations badly, also Oshin broke his hand and never fully recovered for 2011 Asians

good point, You can tell they are not in good shape, Sahakian asked to be substituted close to the end of the second quarter, it looked like he was out of breath. This first half has been their best halftime of the tournament so far, they're more coordinated. A few selfish plays by Samad near mid-late second quarter, but overall they were good, good game by Afagh especially on defense. But, their game still leaves a lot to be desired and they are not playing as good as they should/could.
they should have brought more younger players to the tournament with them. Although there is also some benefit to having the experienced players along with younger players on the squad, the youngsters can learn the trade and also get constant feedback from the veterans, first-hand, at a relatively big tournament like this.

[mohsena2631]

good point, You can tell they are not in good shape, Sahakian asked to be substituted close to the end of the second quarter, it looked like he was out of breath.


It was so obvious, no surprise they came from vacation and went to a friendly tournament in Taiwan (Jones Cup) with Mahram (some of them, not all) and then Becirovic had 10 days (or a week as they say) to prepare this team. they had no time for physical trainings. they aren't physically in good shape but interestingly they play better in 4th quarter ! I think they know their condition, they save energy for the end of the game.

Good game overall, good team work, especially in defense, their offense could be much better. good game for Kardoust and Arghavan, they completely controlled oos-Marcus. I like this Jamshidi kid, he shot the ball extremely bad yesterday but he was good today. I like his style, he has the potential to be better. he had a good season with Petrochimi last year.

I know it's still too early but I think we have a good coach this time.

The next game will be with Japan Saturday, 11 am.

[splitzapper]

It was so obvious, no surprise they came from vacation and went to a friendly tournament in Taiwan (Jones Cup) with Mahram (some of them, not all) and then Becirovic had 10 days (or a week as they say) to prepare this team. they had no time for physical trainings. they aren't physically in good shape but interestingly they play better in 4th quarter ! I think they know their condition, they save energy for the end of the game.

Good game overall, good team work, especially in defense, their offense could be much better. good game for Kardoust and Arghavan, they completely controlled oos-Marcus. I like this Jamshidi kid, he shot the ball extremely bad yesterday but he was good today. I like his style, he has the potential to be better. he had a good season with Petrochimi last year.

I know it's still too early but I think we have a good coach this time.

The next game will be with Japan Saturday, 11 am.

Mohsena great game by your team. Blasted away our team out of the building. Good luck in the championship game. You're federation is good at selecting coaches and you have a good pool of players also.

[mohsena2631]

Mohsena great game by your team. Blasted away our team out of the building. Good luck in the championship game. You're federation is good at selecting coaches and you have a good pool of players also.

thanks , I think Becirovic is the best we could get. even though he wasn't the first choice for IRBF, they were after Ruben Magnano ! anyhow it's still too early to judge the coach. but overall he was good in his first real test.

--

What a crappy game offensively ! but they still won the game and the cup thanks to Aren's do-or-die 3 pointer at the end. I think they underestimated Japan after the first half but Japan played better in second half and almost won the game ! they stopped Afagh almost completely.

good result, I didn't expect them to win the cup at all before the tournament !

[reamily]

thanks , I think Becirovic is the best we could get. even though he wasn't the first choice for IRBF, they were after Ruben Magnano ! anyhow it's still too early to judge the coach. but overall he was good in his first real test.

--

What a crappy game offensively ! but they still won the game and the cup thanks to Aren's do-or-die 3 pointer at the end. I think they underestimated Japan after the first half but Japan played better in second half and almost won the game ! they stopped Afagh almost completely.

good result, I didn't expect them to win the cup at all before the tournament !

what the ? lol Iran does not want to be the Asia's top basketbnall team they want to be the world's best..

[mohsena2631]

Finally after years and years, Mashhoon decided to do something !

http://iribf.ir/news/fed-news/1574-1391-07-29-16-38-35

I don't know how much he is serious but he in this letter to FIBA Asia, he officially threatened to boycott the next year Asian Championships. good job Mashhoon.

[Khalid80]

Finally after years and years, Mashhoon decided to do something !

http://iribf.ir/news/fed-news/1574-1391-07-29-16-38-35

I don't know how much he is serious but he in this letter to FIBA Asia, he officially threatened to boycott the next year Asian Championships. good job Mashhoon.

What happened in Lebanon was truly unfortunate whether regarding the Mahram - Riyadi game or the tragedy that occured with the assassination of a very important figure and head of the intelligence-oriented Information Branch in Lebanon...

The final now will no longer be held today between Riyadi and Mahram due to the situation occuring in Lebanon :(.

Mahram's team is on their way to the airport and will head back to Tehran today.

There are rumours that the game might be played in Dubai but this is not official as of yet.

[behzadir]

Finally after years and years, Mashhoon decided to do something !

http://iribf.ir/news/fed-news/1574-1391-07-29-16-38-35

I don't know how much he is serious but he in this letter to FIBA Asia, he officially threatened to boycott the next year Asian Championships. good job Mashhoon.

Mohsen jan thanks for putting this up. And yeah this time it seems he's pretty serious in resigning and boycotting next year's games if things will remain at this state. BTW the federation has started contacting other countries regarding putting pressure on FIBA Asia to play next years games in a more safe environment.

I did a quick translation of the letter, hope guys will forgive me for the non-fluent stuff!:)

Dear Mr. Sheikh Ale Sanni
The respected President of FIBA Asia

Hello

With respect,regarding the events that happened in Lebanon, I demand urgent attention and investigation on this matter.

I believe in your capabilities and I've always been witnessing your sportsmanlike and humanitarian decisions in crucial situations.

Mr.President this time things have erupted out of sports borders and have entered the political relationships between the two countries.

In the latest case that our national flag and anthem have been insulted, the least penalty for the crowd should have been ejecting them from the stadium. This penalty wasn't brought into justice and there should have been even more fines.

The Mahram sports club was Lebanon's guest for the Asian Club Championship. Though the games was delayed in order to have complete safety in the country, we witness a bomb explosion and also a couple of thousands of people attending the game, clearly insult our flag and country. Our people is a nation that withstood few years of war with a neighbor being supported by united countries to prove its rights and to obtain its honor and independence and ultimately was able to reach this goal. Now we are treated like this in a country known for its friendship and brotherhood with us, and because of the bombing our players are instructed to not get out of the hotel even for a small shopping.

But regarding the games
Mr. President, in all Asia, It's only the Kazakh referees that drag a game into such disorders but still they are insisted to be used. Do you agree that this appointments have been against most teams specially Iranian teams?

Please keep in mind that i should be responsible towards the passionate fans and investors in the sport in my country. With what reasonable explanation should I respond to them regarding this occurance?

My respectful brother I urge you to pay deep attention to my suggestions:
As this happening occured, because of the safety crisis in that country I suggest that the final game should not be played in Lebanon.
Please hand out the penalties for the Lebanese team coach as he initiated the brawl. Lebanese coaches have repeated this behavior since they have never been penalized, thus they lead to such atmospheres in important games.

At the end I shrug off any tolerance of incapabilites in myself, a country that is playing basketball in a higher level than Asia and has been on the podium in most competitions in all age categories in the past 11 years and has also played in the World cup and attended the 2008 Olympic games. Now we are treated as you saw in a country well known for its friendship with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Is there a shortage in Asian referees that all Iran-Lebanon encounters have to be officiated by Kazakh referees that slide a game towards a brawl and disorder? And thus Lebanese coaches perform the most unsportsmanlike acts besides the court with the support of the mentioned referees without being penalized.

Mr.President regarding the lack of safety in Lebanon, I doubt hosting next year's FIBA Asian Championship is a reasonable choice thus I plea for a revision in the hosts of next edition's FIBA Asia Championship, and also a strict decision regarding what went on in Lebanon. Otherwise I must tell you, consulting with Iran's high ranked sports officials, the Iranian sports minister and Iran's Head of the Olympic committee, we will make a decision on whether to take part in future events or not. Also i would resign from whatever position i have in WABA and FIBA Asia itself.

Yours sincerely- Mahmoud Mashhon
President of Iran's Basketball Federation

[mohsena2631]

Mohsen jan thanks for putting this up. And yeah this time it seems he's pretty serious in resigning and boycotting next year's games if things will remain at this state. BTW the federation has started contacting other countries regarding putting pressure on FIBA Asia to play next years games in a more safe environment.

I did a quick translation of the letter, hope guys will forgive me for the non-fluent stuff!:)



Thanks bro, perfect

I read the news today (Ganji's interview with ISNA and newspapers in IRIBF website) the situation was much worse than what we heard, good job by Mashhoon but I don't know why he didn't mention the mafia man behind everything in his letter, Khajirian.

I hope he stands on his word, That's what he could do years ago. enough is enough. you can't play chess with gorilla.

PS: Samad never was my favourite player because of his selfishness but now he has my respect.

[behzadir]

Thanks bro, perfect

I read the news today (Ganji's interview with ISNA and newspapers in IRIBF website) the situation was much worse than what we heard, good job by Mashhoon but I don't know why he didn't mention the mafia man behind everything in his letter, Khajirian.

I hope he stands on his word, That's what he could do years ago. enough is enough. you can't play chess with gorilla.

PS: Samad never was my favourite player because of his selfishness but now he has my respect.

Exactly me too. I didn't like all his ball hoging and selfish plays, but now the only one who truly stood against these insults was Samad and he gets my highest respect for this. That's what a true captain should be like.

[mohsena2631]

Interesting interviews with Samad, Kamrani, Afagh and Hashemi and even Mr Mafia Hakup !

http://www.iranbasketball.org/news/newspapers/1585---3-

Samad's comment on Hagup was interesting, "He is like Mr Bean, he should play in a movie."

[JAMSKIE]

Mohsen jan thanks for putting this up. And yeah this time it seems he's pretty serious in resigning and boycotting next year's games if things will remain at this state. BTW the federation has started contacting other countries regarding putting pressure on FIBA Asia to play next years games in a more safe environment.

I did a quick translation of the letter, hope guys will forgive me for the non-fluent stuff!:)

Dear Mr. Sheikh Ale Sanni
The respected President of FIBA Asia

Hello

With respect,regarding the events that happened in Lebanon, I demand urgent attention and investigation on this matter.

I believe in your capabilities and I've always been witnessing your sportsmanlike and humanitarian decisions in crucial situations.

Mr.President this time things have erupted out of sports borders and have entered the political relationships between the two countries.

In the latest case that our national flag and anthem have been insulted, the least penalty for the crowd should have been ejecting them from the stadium. This penalty wasn't brought into justice and there should have been even more fines.

The Mahram sports club was Lebanon's guest for the Asian Club Championship. Though the games was delayed in order to have complete safety in the country, we witness a bomb explosion and also a couple of thousands of people attending the game, clearly insult our flag and country. Our people is a nation that withstood few years of war with a neighbor being supported by united countries to prove its rights and to obtain its honor and independence and ultimately was able to reach this goal. Now we are treated like this in a country known for its friendship and brotherhood with us, and because of the bombing our players are instructed to not get out of the hotel even for a small shopping.

But regarding the games
Mr. President, in all Asia, It's only the Kazakh referees that drag a game into such disorders but still they are insisted to be used. Do you agree that this appointments have been against most teams specially Iranian teams?

Please keep in mind that i should be responsible towards the passionate fans and investors in the sport in my country. With what reasonable explanation should I respond to them regarding this occurance?

My respectful brother I urge you to pay deep attention to my suggestions:
As this happening occured, because of the safety crisis in that country I suggest that the final game should not be played in Lebanon.
Please hand out the penalties for the Lebanese team coach as he initiated the brawl. Lebanese coaches have repeated this behavior since they have never been penalized, thus they lead to such atmospheres in important games.

At the end I shrug off any tolerance of incapabilites in myself, a country that is playing basketball in a higher level than Asia and has been on the podium in most competitions in all age categories in the past 11 years and has also played in the World cup and attended the 2008 Olympic games. Now we are treated as you saw in a country well known for its friendship with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Is there a shortage in Asian referees that all Iran-Lebanon encounters have to be officiated by Kazakh referees that slide a game towards a brawl and disorder? And thus Lebanese coaches perform the most unsportsmanlike acts besides the court with the support of the mentioned referees without being penalized.

Mr.President regarding the lack of safety in Lebanon, I doubt hosting next year's FIBA Asian Championship is a reasonable choice thus I plea for a revision in the hosts of next edition's FIBA Asia Championship, and also a strict decision regarding what went on in Lebanon. Otherwise I must tell you, consulting with Iran's high ranked sports officials, the Iranian sports minister and Iran's Head of the Olympic committee, we will make a decision on whether to take part in future events or not. Also i would resign from whatever position i have in WABA and FIBA Asia itself.

Yours sincerely- Mahmoud Mashhon
President of Iran's Basketball Federation

That's a good move!

I think if other countries like China, S. Korea, Jordan, Japan, Taiwan, or Qatar (Iran has already expressed it's concern) will express the same concern, then Hagop & the rest of FIBA-Asia will have no choice but to stripped Lebanon of it's hosting right. If Hogop & his cohorts in FIBA-Asia stubbornly will not reconsider their decision then I think the Philippines & some Asian countries should elevate the matter to the FIBA headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Some posters here will argue that FIBA-Asia has it's discretion & more often than not, FIBA headquarters is powerless & could not intervene with some matters involving FIBA-Asia (as what happened in the hosting bidding of next year's Asian Championship last September), but remember, we are talking about security & safety here. I know that FIBA cannot afford a repeat of the "Munich Massacre" to happen within it's watch. Maybe Hagop & his FIBA-Asia allies don't care much about security becoz they have their respective personal (wicked) agenda in making Lebanon as the host, but for Sec. Gen. Patrick Baumann & people at FIBA headquarters, security & safety should not be compromised.

Yes, let's call on other countries to join the move to stripped Lebanon of it's hosting right due to security concern. We cannot afford to send players in Lebanon who will feel nervous & anxiety.

Anywhere but Lebanon!

[mohsena2631]

Iran will host the next WABA Championships in next february, (19-23 Bahman, lazy to convert the dates) top 2 teams will qualify for the 2013 FIBA Asia.
it means we can see our NT at home after 9 years ! :) the last time our NT played a match (friendly or official) at home was 9 years ago in 2004 WABA Championships.

but there is always a possibility for cancellation of the tournament.

[behzadir]

Iran will host the next WABA Championships in next february, (19-23 Bahman, lazy to convert the dates) top 2 teams will qualify for the 2013 FIBA Asia.
it means we can see our NT at home after 9 years ! :) the last time our NT played a match (friendly or official) at home was 9 years ago in 2004 WABA Championships.

but there is always a possibility for cancellation of the tournament.

Thanks Mohsen jan for the news. The date will be 7th-11th February if i'm not mistaking.

Though it's a WABA competition which is not that much important hosting-wise and with Iran advancing to the AC this year in Japan which makes the games pretty much overlooked for us it still is a huge step forward. Hope we can host the AC someday in Tehran. If that's the exact date i'll try to go to the games and see how Middle eastern teams look like before the 2013 Asian Championship edition.

[rocketstar47]

Iran will host the next WABA Championships in next february, (19-23 Bahman, lazy to convert the dates) top 2 teams will qualify for the 2013 FIBA Asia.
it means we can see our NT at home after 9 years ! :) the last time our NT played a match (friendly or official) at home was 9 years ago in 2004 WABA Championships.

but there is always a possibility for cancellation of the tournament.


I Thought Iran qualifies in the 2013 FIBA Asia after winning the FIBA Asia Cup.

if ever Iran qualifies in the WABA Champs the 2-3 place will qualify, correct me if im wrong.

[behzadir]

I Thought Iran qualifies in the 2013 FIBA Asia after winning the FIBA Asia Cup.

if ever Iran qualifies in the WABA Champs the 2-3 place will qualify, correct me if im wrong.

Iran booked it's place after winning the Asia Cup in Japan so,if Iran is in the top 3 in this tournament,then yes all 3 teams will qualify for the AC 2013.

[mohsena2631]

5 teams confirmed for WABA Championships in Tehran, everyone except Yemen and Palestine

5081

[mohsena2631]

Becirovic called up 16 players for the WABA Champs in Tehran

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami (Mahram)
Mehdi Kamrani (Mahram)
Amir Seddighi (Mahram)
Hamed Afagh (Petrochimi)
Hamed Sohrabnejad (Petrochimi)
Rouzbeh Arghavan (Petrochimi)
Behnam Yakhchali (Petrochimi)
Aren Davoudi (Zanjan)
Oshin Sahakian (Mahan)
Javad Davari (Mahan)
Asghar Kardoust (Mahan)
Mohammad Jamshidi (Azad)
Vahid Dalirzahan (Azad)
Saleh Foroutan (Azad)
Jonas/Younes Lalehzadeh (Sanaye Petrochimi)
Mohammad Yousefvand (Albadr)

Becir decided to play with almost the same team in FIBA Asia Cup. most probably because they have no time for training. but still I'm a little surprised with this list, Sohrabnejad retired from the national team back in 2010 but he is still here ! injured Jamshidi is here too, no Veisi is the biggest surprise for me. also no Davarpanah and no Hassanzadeh again !

IRIBF also released the WABA Champs schedule, no Syria ! only 4 teams will participate, the first match will be against Jordan next Thursday.