Saudi Arabia vs Iran: Last Stand

AMMAN (Jordan) - We are down to the final games of Group E in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers. There’s been a lot of storylines to untangle, but the conclusion is near. A major knot to untie will be the marquee matchup between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

When: 1:00 PM June 14, 2021
Where: Prince Hamza Hall in Amman, Jordan

Rematch

Both teams are coming off wins in the their first game during this phase of the Asia Cup Qualifiers. Iran handily beat Qatar to clinch direct qualification to the Asia Cup, while Saudi Arabia edged out Syria in another overtime classic.

This leaves both teams at first and second place in the standings of Group E at the moment.

The last time these two teams played against each other was late last year in November 2020. Iran eventually won the game, riding the clutch shooting by Mohammad Jamshidi. However, it was a win that did not come easy as Saudi Arabia had pushed the Asia Cup 2017 finalists down to the final quarter.

This could be a psychological advantage for Saudi Arabia heading into this game, knowing that can go toe-to-toe with the Asia Cup powerhouse.

New (Familiar) Faces

There will be a couple of differences in Iran’s roster going into this game compared to the previous matchup against Saudi Arabia. Jamshidi and Behnam Yakhchali are both back, but this time they will also have the firepower of two more Asia Cup veterans, Samad Nikkah Bahrami and Arsalan Kazemi.

Bahrami made his first appearance in this Asia Cup Qualifiers against Qatar and made sure to remind everyone why he is regarded as one of the best forwards in Asia Cup history. The 38-year-old vet cooly dropped a team-high 16 points on 5-8 shooting as the team cruised to the win.

It will be fun to see how he matches up against Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Abdel Gabar who has been coming into his own as the star of Saudi Arabia basketball. Gabar scored 21 points on 9-14 shooting while also grabbing 6 rebounds and passing out 4 assist in the win over Syria and has been consistently playing well through the Qualifiers.

Player to Watch - Arsalan Kazemi (IRI)

Another Asia Cup veteran that made his debut in this Asia Cup Qualifiers for Iran was Arsalan Kazemi. He too quickly made his presence felt by dropping a signature "Kazemi" stat line in 25 minutes of play.

The 2.01M (6'7") forward scored a modest 8 points on 4-5 shooting, but stuffed the stat sheet with 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, and 0 turnovers.

Iran have plenty of high-level talents to utilize on the court, but there might not be anyone else that can do a little bit of everything like Kazemi can.

End Game

Iran might already have qualified for the Asia Cup, but that doesn’t mean they won’t want to settle the score with Saudi Arabia. Armed with two of their big guns in Bahrami and Kazemi for this game, they might want to send a message in their final game of the Qualifiers to any of their opponents ahead that they mean business.

That means it could be a tall task for Saudi Arabia. Though they currently have a better record that Syria, they are at a disadvantage as Syria holds the point difference tiebreaker if it comes down to that to decide the final standings.

Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia are high on confidence and will be able to leave everything on the court in Amman in an attempt to clinch that final direct qualification spot.

FIBA