Aytak Salamat (15 points) and Mahsa Saberi (14 points) delivered in double-digits and consistently played throughout the match. Iran performed well in running the wings, and mostly through their strategic serves. They completed the match with seven service winners, which helped define the pacing of the match.
“Our team is a very young team and this was such a big experience for them. Our main goal is to just keep improving every day. We played lots of good teams here. It’s always a challenge but it’s my job to always keep them positive about that,” Australia coach Russell Borgeaud said.
Iran’s Maedeh Borhani Esfahani, who has visited and played in the Philippines on multiple occasions, was happy to be back.
“There are so lovely many fans here in the Philippines and I am happy to be meeting all of them. It was great to play here. Sometimes we had difficult moments, but we always came out with a good fight no matter what. I’m really happy to finish this tournament with a win,” she said.
Iran’s best finish in the AVC Cup was in Vīnh Phúc, Vietnam in 2012 as they ranked 6th. Australia finished in 7th place in the 2008 and 2018 editions, both held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
China and Japan will lock horns in the final match on Monday.