ASTANA (Kazakhstan) / DOHA (Qatar) – Iran and Qatar secured 1-2 finishes in Group E after acing their respective assignments for a strong windup to their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers campaigns Monday night.

Team Melli clinched the top position following an 88-45 conquest of Kazakhstan at the Jekpe-Jek Saraiy, while the Qataris overpowered India by way of an 81-61 result at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall as both teams now have their sights set on preparing for the tournament proper in which they have already qualified.

All players of Coach Sotirios Manolopoulos scored in beating the Steppen Wolves, with lead floor general Sina Vahedi showing the way with 20 points alongside 4 rebounds and 4 assists to net an efficiency of 22.

Matin Aghajanpour supplied 16 points as he drilled half of the team’s 8 triples. Mohammad Amini, who starred in their win against India the last time out, chipped in 13 points and 7 rebounds off the bench in the win that saw the team shoot an excellent 55.1-percent from the floor, thanks to their 22 assists as a collective.

Iran finished the Qualifiers with a 5-1 record after winning both of their matches this Window 3, with their lone loss coming from Qatar last November in easily one of this tournament’s best matches.

And just like the three-time Asia Cup winners, the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 hosts swept their outings in this window as well after that dominant performance against the team from South Asia.

Coach Hakan Demir’s charges broke away in the second quarter with a 25-4 assault for a 42-22 halftime lead and never let up, eventually finishing with a 4-2 record as they ended the Qualifiers with three successive wins.

Tyler Harris starred in the triumph with 24 points as he started out hot in the game by nailing his first seven shots from the field without a miss. The lanky forward finished with an 11-of-15 clip and collected as well 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals without committing any turnover, in the process netting an efficiency of 31.

Big man Ndoye Seydou went an efficient 6-of-8 from the floor and ended up with 15 points, while the debuting Donte Grantham came through with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.

India, on the other hand, still kept their Asia Cup dreams alive despite the defeat as they managed to secure the no. 3 spot in the group by having the head-to-head advantage against Kazakhstan. It could be remembered that Coach Scott Flemming and his men beat the Steppen Wolves in Chennai last window, 88-69.

With this, India will head into the Qualifying Tournament for Third-Place Teams for one last attempt to advance to FIBA’s flagship event in Asia set August 5-17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

FIBA