Petrochimi Comes 4th at FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Petrochimi of Iran lost to Kazakhstan’s BC Astana 81-78 at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017 third-placed match on Saturday.
The Iranians were looking for payback against the Kazakhs, who handed them their only loss in the group phase, but Astana proved to be the steadier team in crunch time.
Anthony Clemmons took it upon himself to step up and lead Astana in scoring. Clemmons tossed in 22 points to go along with 5 assists for Astana, while Carter finished with 19 points on 5-of-11 field goal shooting. Veteran national team guard Rustam Yargaliev also did well with 11 points off the bench.
Behnam Yakhchali, who had struggled to find his rhythm all tournament long, finally found his range, netting 18 points to lead five Iranians in scoring. Meisam Mirzaei and Arsalan Kazemi both recorded double-doubles and combined for 28 points and 21 boards.
Al Riyadi of Lebanon will face China’s Kashgar in the final match.
The 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup is the 26th staging of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the international basketball club tournament of FIBA Asia.
The tournament is taking place in Chenzhou, China from September 22 to 30.
This is second straight year that China hosts the tournament.
