Iran crushes Jordan to enter semis

MANILA, Philippines – Iran made sure there was no chance for a repeat upset, going for the knockout punch early in the game demolishing its 2011 tormentor Jordan with a staggering 94-50 rout in the quarterfinal round of the 27th FIBA Asia championships at the MOA Arena in Pasay City on Friday.

Hamed Haddadi imposed his will inside scattering 20 points while Hamed Afagh and Oshin Sahakian chipped in 18 and 14 points, respectively.

“I was personally a little bit afraid of this team but after seeing the concentration of the players, I became confident and I was very happy with our performance,” said Iran coach Mehmed Becirovic.

“I agree with the coach of Jordan that the score is not the real reflection of the difference between the teams,” he added.

Point guard Madi Kamrani did a great job directing Iran’s offense, setting the tone with 11 assists while adding 11 points of his own.

“Kamrani played very good today.  He showed his maturity in running the team well. He is my right hand man and I’m happy on his performance,” said Becirovic.

Jordan was hard-pressed to repeat their feat in Wuhan, China at the 2011 edition of the qualifying championship when they administered an upset victory.  This time around they missed key players Sam Daghles, Rasheim Wright and Zaid Abbas.

Defense was the key for the Iranians, limiting the helpless Jordan squad to a measly 28 percent shooting compared to their scintillating 52 shooting clip from the field.

Iran dominated on all fronts racing to a 31-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The talent level of the 2007 and 2009 champions was evident on all accounts against the inexperienced Jordanian squad.

Haddadi had a scary moment in the game when he went down clutching his knee at the 3:51 mark with the game already over, Iran leading 83-48.

Iran will face the winner of the China-Chinese Taipei tussle in their own quarterfinal match-up that is still ongoing as of posting time.

Jordan will be relageated to the 5th-8th classification phase of the tournament.