On Sunday evening, young Iranian basketball players overcame Japanese rivals 71-65 in the final showdown of the sportive extravaganza staged in Azadi Sports Complex.
Iran had the upper hand in the first three quarters (23-18, 12-8 and 17-14) and despite the 19-25 loss in the last quarter, they came out ahead of Japan overall claiming the crown for the third time.
Previously on Saturday, the Iranian outfit had beaten South Korea 87-63 to secure a place in the final round as well as to qualify for the 2017 FIBA U19 World Championship to be held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo from 1 to 9 July 2017.
Iran had previously secured the crown in 2004 and 2008 (in Tehran). The Iranian basketballers also finished runners-up in 2002 (in Kuwait) and 2014 (in Qatar) in addition to bagging a bronze medal in 2012 (in Mongolia).
In addition to Iran and Japan, the third-place winner South Korea, who had to subdue Lebanon, secured a place in the next year’s world championships.
The 2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship, which marks the 24th edition of the continental sports event, kicked off in the Iranian capital on July 22 and came to an end on Sunday July 31.
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