Iran basketball stopped short of advancing to next stage after loss to Tunisia  

Iran played Tunisia on Monday at the Guangzhou Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China, for its second match in the first group stage of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

The Iranian squad lost to Tunisia 79-67. The team had also ended the first half while lagging behind 44-35. This is while Iran is ranked 27 and Tunisia is ranked 51.

Following their loss against Puerto Rico in their opening match on Saturday, Iran were still clinging to hopes of advancing from the first group stage for the first time with a win against Tunisia, which Iran had defeated once in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010.

The Iranian team had failed to advance from the first group stage in the previous edition of FIBA World Cup, but had been able to score a win in each edition of the tournament.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will qualify 7 teams directly for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with the remaining 4 plus host (Central Board decision) to be determined through 4 Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2020.

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