In his message, which was issued minutes after the news came out, Ali Larijani described the achievement by the National Iranian Men's Basketball Team as bringing happiness and joy to hearts of the Iranian nation.
The parliament speaker further said the victory showed the unity, enthusiasm and capabilities of the young Iranian players.
The Iranian national basketball team gained a 95-75 win over Philippines in a Sunday match to book a ticket to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Iran lost its matches in the group stage against Puerto Rico, Tunisia and Spain, but its hopes remained alive after host country China could not advance to the next round of 16. Eventually, winning the matches against Angola and the Philippines as well as China's defeat against Nigeria helped Iran secure 2020 Olympics ticket.
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