Iranian professional basketball club Petrochimi Bandar Imam has secured a place in the semifinal round of the 2017 Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball (FIBA) Asia Champions Cup, overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Taipei Dacin Tigers in a quarter-final showdown.
The Iranian team defeated the Taiwanese squad 97-80 (26-18, 22-23, 20-16 and 29-23) in a fixture staged at the Chenzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in the south central Chinese city of Chenzhou on Thursday.
Iran’s frontline duo of Arsalan Kazemi and Meisam Mirzaei were unstoppable throughout the match. They well managed to slow down Sim Bhullar, the hulking center of Taipei Dacin Tigers.
Kazemi had an all-around like of 14 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, while Mirzaei impressed with 11 points and 11 boards. It was Willie Warren's 31-point tally that helped Petrochimi progress to the next round.
Petrochimi Bandar Imam basketball team will next face Al Riyadi of Lebanon.
The 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup started in Chenzhou, China, on September 22 and will conclude on September 30.
The FIBA Asia Champions Cup, previously known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup until 2002, is the Asian club championship for professional basketball. It is organized by FIBA Asia, and takes place once a year.