IRI/TPE - Kamrany, Iran to pack their bags for 2014 FIBA World Cup

MANILA (FIBA Asia Championship/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - The size, speed and relentless hustle of Iran has delivered them a place at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

The FIBA Asia Championship favourites also booked a spot in Sunday’s gold medal game after dominating Chinese Taipei 79-60 in the first Semi-Final.

After Taipei had made all the early running, Iran were hoisted on the diminutive shoulders of point guard Mahdi Kamrany (19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists), whose aggressive defense and unstoppable penetration changed the game.

"They made all the shots in first quarter, but after that we were able to control them with aggressive defense," said Iran coach Memi Becirovic.

"We deserved to win, we played well for 30 minutes."

Hamed Hadadi was a tower of strength for Iran with 17 points and 14 rebounds, his duel with Quincy Davis III (16 points, 5 rebounds) one of the highlights.

Early on Iran took the air out of the ball, looking for Hadadi inside, but they couldn't shake Taipei from their free-wheeling style.

With Lin Chih-Chieh and Tsai Wen-Cheng finding plenty of holes in the passive defense the underdogs broke clear, and when Chen Shih-Chieh nailed an improbable leaning buzzer-beater Taipei had a 23-14 edge at quarter-time.

The Iranians rediscovered their trademark defensive intensity in the second, forcing turnover after turnover, with Kamrany leading the stunning fast-break offence on a 17-0 run to reclaim the lead.

The margin then extended into double figures, with only the workmanlike efforts of Davis allowing his team to sneak back within six points at the long break.

But while Chinese Taipei had solved their turnover issues by the third quarter they were still helpless on the boards, Iran using their 48-26 rebounding edge to extend the margin past 20 by the last break.

Starved of the ball, the men from Taipei had little chance of reeling in the 2007 and 2009 champions and now must qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup through the Third-Place Game on Sunday.

"Iran is a great team, each player in this team is special," Chinese Taipei coach Hsu Chin-Tse said.

"We could not control the rebound and that killed us."

For full and in-depth coverage of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, go to the official website http://manila2013.fibaasia.net.

FIBA