TEHRAN - The Iranian men’s under-23 3x3 basketball team claimed first place on Day 4 of the FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League Asia in Cangzhou, China, following a decisive 21-10 victory over Japan in Friday’s stop final.
The Iranian men’s team advanced to the daily final by defeating Mongolia 21-15 in their opening match and beating Kazakhstan 21-13 in their second group encounter. The victory marked Iran’s second appearance in a daily final during the tournament.
The men’s squad features Muhammad Mahdi Rahimi, Seyed Muhammad Ghaffari, Muhammad Basir Momeni, Sarem Jafari, and Argen Minasians. Following four rounds of competition, Iran ranks second overall in the men’s standings with 300 points, trailing South Korea.
In the women’s division, Iran finished third on Day 4 after a narrow 14-13 loss to host China and a 20-11 victory over Kazakhstan. The women’s team holds third place overall with 260 points, behind China and Japan, with four matches remaining over the final two stops.
The women’s squad includes Farnaz Khodamoradi, Mahla Abedi, Shamim Noori, Mahsa Korani, and Zahra Moghaddasi. Moghaddasi was ruled out of remaining tournament play prior to Friday’s matches after sustaining a knee injury.
The coaching and technical staff for the Iranian delegation comprises Armin Soleimanzadeh, Mohammad Sistani, Rahela Shahdal, and Sahar Najafi.
The tournament opened on Monday, August 10, with the Iranian women falling 16-14 to China before defeating Kazakhstan 22-9, while the men recorded a 19-15 win over Mongolia, a 22-6 victory over Kazakhstan, and a 21-15 loss to South Korea. On Tuesday, August 11, the women lost 14-11 to Japan and defeated Kazakhstan 16-10, as the men fell 19-17 to China and beat Kazakhstan 21-10. On Wednesday, August 12, the women lost 15-13 to China and defeated Mongolia 22-7, while the men dropped narrow decisions to Mongolia (20-18) and Japan (20-19).
Following Friday’s victories, the competition continues on Saturday, August 15, with the women facing Japan and Kazakhstan, while the men take on China and Kazakhstan. The tournament concludes on Sunday, August 16, with the women playing China and Mongolia, and the men closing against Mongolia and Japan.
The event features national teams from China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Iran competing simultaneously across men’s and women’s divisions, with overall standings determined by cumulative point totals.