The draw for the big event was held on Tuesday and Iran was handed a tough group with the 15-time Olympics champion US, two-time Olympics silver medalist France, and a fourth team that will be determined later between Canada, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey, and Uruguay in a competition in Canada.
Meanwhile, Ramin Tabatabaei, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Basketball Federation, says Iran is able to advance from the group stage.
Pointing to the change in the system of matches in the Olympics, Tabatabaei said Team Melli eyes to book a place in the Final Phase as one of the best third-place teams. The Group Phase will consist of three groups of four teams each. The teams placed first and second in each group, and the two best third-placed teams in the Group Phase qualify for the Final Phase.
“First of all, we should see what team will be our third rival but in any case, we should put necessary efforts to advance from the group by prior planning and holding in-time and fruitful camps,” Tabatabaei told Mehr News Agency on Wednesday.
“There is obviously no need to talk about the US and the class of its basketball. Many of basketball’s best players are present in the US. Also, France is one of the prominent teams. Both of our rivals eye title but it is important for us to know the teams’ composition in the Olympics.”
Recognizing what players will be part of American and French teams and analyzing their performance can be a key to achieve the goal, said the President.
He also pointed to Iran’s match against Spain at the 2019 FIBA World Cup as an example of Iran’s capabilities. Team Melli was 53-52 ahead of the world champion till the end of the third quarter before admitting a 65-73 defeat at the end. “I remind this game to say that Iran’s basketball has high capabilities and we can achieve the aim of advancing from the group stage if there are good planning and effective tests in place.”
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