With five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the outcome beyond question, Hamed Ehadadi left the free throw area, took several power dribbles, jogged past a helpless Yi Jianlian and took his hulking 7’2" frame inside the paint for a lay-up to give Iran a 23-point lead in the 2009 FIBA-Asia Men’s Basketball championship game. The move was emphatic as it punctuated Iran’s dominance of home team China in the Finals. Ehadadi’s effort was also symbolic since it cemented Iran’s, and the Middle East teams’, emergence as Asia’s new basketball elite. If some questioned the legitimacy of Iran’s 2007 FIBA-Asia title since China sent only its second-tier unit to Tokushima, no one is questioning Iran’s back-to-back championships in Tianjin. Against a Chinese team that displayed the cohesiveness of an NBA Summer League squad, Iran dictated the pace, rotated the ball with ease and scored easy baskets. On defense, Iran was only too happy to watch Yi, Wang Zhi Zhi and Sun Yue take one-on-one NBA-style pull-up jumpers. On several occasions, Ehadadi, who stood several feet away from Yi, even dared the 7’0" veteran of the New Jersey Nets to shoot from afar. Iran used team-play to dominate handily while China resorted to one-on-one moves to falter spectacularly.
Unlike China, Iran had the advantage of winning the title in 2007 absorbing all the lessons that came with it. Unlike China, Iran had a natural starting center who played the international style of basketball to perfection. Unlike China, Iran is now unquestionably on top of Asian hoops. And they made it look as easy as an Ehadadi drive to the basket. 
Consider how Ehadadi fared against Yi. Ehadadi had every right to ask for the ball and take it to Yi each time Iran was on offense. Ehadadi was a natural 7’2" center. Yi was a natural 7’0" forward forced to play center because of the absence of Yao Ming. Yet, Ehadadi followed the game-plan of Serbian coach Veselin Matic, focused on grabbing rebounds and got his teammates involved early. Yi, on the other hand, tried to maximize his talents with individual plays from start to finish. Ehadadi finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds (12 rebounds in the first half). Yi struggled with 11 points on 5/17 FG shooting. In the battle of point guards, Mahdi Kamrani held a 40-minute seminar on how to run a team in an international tournament. In contrast, the combined efforts of an injured Lu Wei and back-up Hu Xuefeng couldn’t pull more talented teammates away from the temptation of singular plays. Kamrani constantly talked with teammates, created shot opportunities and showed how a team with a pass-first point guard could win the big game. Iran, inspired by Kamrani’s heady plays, beat China in assists, 16-6. Perhaps even before the start of the game, Iran knew their time had come. Unimpressed by China’s NBA-powered roster and home-court advantage, Iran’s players goofed around during team introductions and appeared surprisingly relaxed moments before tip-off. Unlike China, Iran had the advantage of winning the title in 2007 absorbing all the lessons that came with it. Unlike China, Iran had a natural starting center who played the international style of basketball to perfection. Unlike China, Iran is now unquestionably on top of Asian hoops. And they made it look as easy as an Ehadadi drive to the basket.
- GMANews.TV 
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