Kazakhstan repeat over Iran, Bahrain defeat Syria for first win

ASTANA (Kazakhstan) & ALEPPO (Syria) - Kazakhstan beat Iran for the second time as Bahrain got their first win during Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.

No Fluke

The Steppen Wolves proved that their win over Iran this past February was not an outlier. Kazakhstan repeated the feat, defeating Team Melli, 68-60, at the Republican Velodrome Saryaka.

Kazakhstan and Iran were locked in a tight first quarter that saw Iran leading by just one point entering the second period, 23-22. The hosts got their bearings straight late in the first half to lead, 41-35, at the break. Kazakhstan saw their lead at its biggest in the fourth quarter at nine points before Iran tried to stage a comeback. They would come no closer than five points as the Steppen Wolves held on for their fifth win in as many games.

Kazakhstan's top playmaker, Rustam Murzagaliyev, seized the opportunity to show his shooting prowess in this match. He led all scorers with 26 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Dmitriy Gavrilov and Roman Marchuk also did well with 16 and 11 points, respectively.

Iconic big man Hamed Haddadi finally returned to action for Iran in his first game of this World Cup Qualifiers, scoring 18 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots. Iran struggled with their offense all throughout. They made just 31.6 percent of their field goals, including missing all 19 of their three-point shot attempts.

The two teams will face each other again in the upcoming Asia Cup as they are both in Group C.

On the Board

Bahrain finally tallied a win on the board after beating Syria on the road, 76-67, at the Hamadaniyeh Stadium in Aleppo.

The winners scored the first points of the game and never relinquished the lead against an underwhelming Syrian side. The visitors led by as many as 20 points.

Bahrain just shot the ball much better and were also much stronger in rebounding. They shot 46.0 percent percent from the floor, including connecting on a dozen three-pointers.

Wayne Chism led Bahrain with 20 points in his national team debut, while Ahmed Alderazi added 18 points thanks to hitting 5 triples. The home team were paced by Amir Hinton's 30 points, while Anthouny Bakar added 13.

Both teams are now tied for the third spot in `the group. The fourth-placed team will not advance to the next round.

Group D action takes a 2-day break before returning on Monday, 4 July. Iran will try to bounce back against Syria, while Kazakhstan will host Bahrain.

FIBA