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TEHRAN – Iran’s basketball team incredibly lost to Syria in the second window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers on Monday.
The Persians, who had humiliated the Syrian team 94-48 in February last year, lost 77-70 to the team in Doha, Qatar in Group E.
George Earl Kell III had a shocking game for Syria, doing a bit of everything to finish with 34 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Mohammad Jamshidi scored 13 points for Iran.
Iran started the second window with a 71-64 victory over Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Mehran Shahintab’s team will have to wait for the third and final window, where they will meet Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
There are 24 teams competing in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers. Once all three Qualifier windows are concluded, the top two teams from each group will qualify directly for the 2021 Asia Cup. The last six qualified teams from each group are eliminated.
Meanwhile, the six third-place teams from each group will play in a separate qualifying tournament. The teams will be placed in two different groups of three teams. The top two teams from those respective groups will secure their places in the 2021 Asia Cup, completing the list of 16 teams that will also compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
