India’s run at the FIBA Asia Challenge came to an end after a 47-77 defeat to host Iran in the quarterfinal held at Tehran.
India stayed in contention in the early stages, with the higher-ranked Iran side taking a manageable 38-31 lead at the end of the first-half.
A horror start after the interval, however, cost the Indians dear. Iran outscored its rival by a whopping 26-2 margin in the third quarter, and the visitor had no way back from here.
Captain and in-form centre Amritpal Singh (6 points) had a disappointing outing, converting only two of 14 field-goal attempts.
Amjyot Singh (7 points) was not much better, converting two of 13 field-goal attempts. The dependable Vishesh Bhriguvanshi stood out with 14 points.
Iran captain Hamed Hadadi, the first player from his country to play in the NBA, recorded a game-high 17 points.
In the previous edition of the tournament, held at Wuhan (China) in 2014, India had similarly exited in the last-eight stage.
The result:
Quarterfinal:
Iran 77 (Hamed Hadadi 17, O. Sahakian 16, Yachkhali 15) bt India 47 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 14).
