IRI – Iran players preparing for busy summer

TEHRAN (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Iran will play at a FIBA World Championship for the very first time this summer.

Veselin Matic, who led the team to a successful Asian title defense last summer, will coach the Iranians against Team USA, Slovenia, Brazil, Croatia and Tunisia in Group B with all of those Preliminary Round games in Istanbul.

The Iran B team, which is coached by Mohammad Kasaeipour and has already won the WABA championship that was organized in Duhok, Iraq, earlier this month, is getting ready for FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup. That event will be staged in Lebanon later this summer.

The Iran A and B teams are in camp together.

Some players will go back and forth between these two teams as the summer goes on.

Iran will play friendly games in Italy, China, Turkey and Lithuania as they prepare for the FIBA World Championship, which tips off on August 28.

The Iranians’ first game is against Brazil.

Iran training camp squad: Hamed Afagh, Amir Amini, Rouzbeh Arghavan, Mehrad Atashi, Ali Baheran, Javad Davari, Karekani Davarpanahfard, Saeid Davarpanahfard Karekani, Aren Davoudichegani, Ali Doraghi, Mohammad Reza Ebrahiminia, Hamad Ehadadi, Mehdi Esmaeli, Mohammad Hassanzadeh Saberi Akhlaghi, Mahdi Kamrani, Asghar Kardoustpoustinsaraei, Arsalan Kazemi Naeini (to be added later), Moosa Nabipoor, Mohammad Samad Nik Khahbahrami, Jaber Rouzbahani Darrehsari, Oshin Sahakian, Hamed Sohrabnejad, Pooya Tadjik, Saman Veisi and Iman Zandi Mashhadi.

FIBA