Late breaking news: Iran finalizes its Olympic Qualifying
Tournament team. And guess what? Their lineup is missing some big names that
are practically synonymous to Iranian basketball.
Names like Hamed Afagh, Mehdi Kamrani, and even Samad
Nikkhah Bahrami, a transcendent do-it-all forward who averaged 17.0pts and 6
rebounds for the Zheijiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball League.
The reason? My guess is age. While Bahrami is still as
effective as ever at age 33, Kamrani (34 years old) has been exposed by our
very own Jason Castro in the last 3 years as someone who can no longer keep up
with the young turks of Asian basketball. Afagh, a key reserve, is also 33
years old, and in the same boat as Kamrani.
Replacing them in the lineup are several youngsters who
will no doubt take over the reins of Iranian basketball. These youngsters
include 21 year old Behnam Yakchali, Sajjad Mashayekhi (22), Sedighi Amir (23) and Arman Zangeneh (23).
Yakchali, in particular, was very
effective against both Gilas Pilipinas and China in last year’s FIBA Asia Cup
and seems primed to be the next Iranian basketball superstar.
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