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Iran wheelchair basketball team stands 2nd in Asia Oceania tournament

Iran men's national wheelchair basketball team (file photo)

Iran men's national wheelchair basketball team has ended its campaign at the Mitsubishi Electric 2015 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Asia Oceania Championship in Japan, and finished as the regional runner-up after falling to the Australian side.

On Saturday, the Iranian squad lost out to the world-title-holder Australia 60-78 in a match played at the Chiba Port Arena in the city of Chiba, located about 40 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of the capital, Tokyo.

 Morteza Ebrahimi was the leading scorer for Iran with 24 points, while Australia’s top scorer Nkowles Tristan accumulated 21 points.

Earlier in the day, Japanese wheelchair basketball players overcame their South Korean opponents 80-56 in the third-place game to claim the bronze podium spot.

Iran men's national wheelchair basketball team defeated South Korea 83-67 in a semi-final showdown on Friday to book its place at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil.

The Mitsubishi Electric 2015 IWBF Asia Oceania Championship started in Chiba, Japan, on October 10 and concluded on October 17.

There were twelve men’s teams competing for three spots, and three women’s teams vying for one spot at the Rio Paralympics.

Iran had been drawn in Group A along with Australia, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia in the preliminary stage.

Group B comprised Afghanistan, China, host Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

Physically-challenged female basketball players from Australia, China and Japan were competing in the women’s section.

On Friday, China women’s wheelchair basketball team blocked Australia’s path to Rio with a 59-43 win in the final to be the Asia Oceania zone's sole representative in the 2016 Summer Paralympics.


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