2013 FIBA Asia Championship: Iranians ride Haddadi over Korea

Iran made sure Korea was not able to score two upset victories in a row.

Led by Hamed Haddadi and Damad Nikkah Bahrami, the two-time FIBA Asia champions defeated Korea 76-65, Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Group C of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

Nikkah Bahrami scored 12 points in the third quarter to engineer the Iranian breakaway, while Haddadi finished off the game by pouring in points in the final quarter.

With the win, Iran is now alone at the top in their group. They will be meeting China in an early clash between title favorites tomorrow night.

"China is a a good team. They won the championship in 2011. Korea and the Philippines are good teams too," said Haddadi. "They're all coming for the championship, us too."

Korea, on the other hand, will meet Malaysia, the minnows of the so-called Group of Death.

Korea was whistled for two early shooting fouls to start the first, as Hamed Haddadi and Oshin Sahakian stepped to the line to give Iran a 3-0 advantage. Makes from Kim Joo Sung and Kim Jongkyu sandwiched a layup from Mahdi Kamrani for a 5-4 count in favor of Iran.

The Iranians went on a run capped by a Haddadi put-back at the 4:48 mark of the first, for an 11-4 count in their favor, but a triple by Cho Sungmin trimmed their lead down to four at 16-12 with 2:21 left in the first. A free throw from Yun Hoyoung then inched Korea closed at 18-15 to end the first quarter.

Korea scored two baskets inside early in the second period, to claim a 19-18 lead and force Iran to call a timeout. After the break, Samad Nikkah Bahrami and Haddadi paired for four points to reclaim the lead and force Korea to call their own timeout.

Iran's Hamed Afagh was whistled for a personal and a technical foul at the 4:28 mark of the second quarter. Korea scored on four straight free throws to get a 27-25 lead, but Nikkah Bahrami quickly knotted the count with a floater inside.

Kim Mingoo then swished a triple just before halftime to give Korea a 34-30 advantage heading to the break.

Cho led all scorers at the half with nine points, while Lee Jonghyun and Kim Jongkyu added a combined 13 for Korea.

Iran was led by Haddadi and Nikkah Bahrami who combined for 14 points.

The Iranians wasted no time overhauling Korea's halftime lead as Haddadi and Nikkah Bahrami combined to give Iran a 40-37 lead.

Nikkah Bahrami poured in 12 points in the third to give Iran some breathing room. Haddadi's and-one play with 29 seconds left gave Iran its first double-digit advantage at 51-41, heading into the final period.

Iran kept their distance in the early part of the fourth. A breakaway dunk by Haddadi at the 6:06 mark gave Iran a 57-47 lead. However, they were called for an unsportsmanlike foul, allowing Korea to get two free throws and a layup to stay in the game.

In reply, Haddadi scored seven straight points to give Iran a 64-50 edge with only 4:12 remaining in the game.

The Koreans tried to mount a late run, but they had no answer to Haddadi's dominance. Nikkah Bahrami's and-one play with 1:53 left in the game was the final nail in Korea's coffin as the lead went up to 12 at 71-59. - RAF, GMA News

 

The scores:

Iran 76 -  Hadadi 30, Nikkah Bahrami 23, Kamrany 5, Sahakian 4, Kardoust 4, Arghavan 3, Jafarabadi 3, Davoudichegani 2, Afagh 2, Sohrabnejad 0, Davari 0, Veisi 0
 

Quarter scoring: 18-15, 30-34, 51-41, 76-65