Iranian basketballers fall to China in International Basketball Challenge
Iran men's national basketball team has suffered its first loss in the preliminary round of the 2015 International Basketball Challenge in China, going down to the hosts.
On Monday, the first day of the competitions, the Iranian squad lost to the home side in its opening match played at the Suzhou Sports Center in the southeastern Chinese city of Suzhou.
The Chinese team opened the game in a very convincing fashion, remaining consistent and taking an early 4-0 lead. The Iranian players could eventually establish themselves and bring the score at level 4-4. The quarter continued on a point-by-point basis until the Chinese took it 19-15.
The Iranians took the game to the wire in the second quarter, and managed to roll to a 16-11 victory.
The Chine basketball players came from behind in the third quarter, and sealed a 17-12 win.
China continued to chip away in the final quarter, and rolled to a 68-64 win over the Persians.
The Iranian outfit will face Italy in its next fixture on Tuesday, before taking on Slovaks in the third the next day.
Australia, Lithuania, Japan and the United States are competing in another group.
The 2015 International Basketball Challenge opened in Suzhou, China, on July 27, and will run until August 1.
The tournament is a warm-up exercise for Iran before the FIBA Asia Championship for Men scheduled to be held between September 23 and October 3 in Wuhan, China.
The winner of the forthcoming sporting event qualifies for the basketball tournament on the 2016 Summer Olympics, while the silver and bronze medalists will go under the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
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