Hashemi: Against Bahrain, we showed that we are the best team in Asia

According to IRNA, Mustafa Hashemi, who experienced another victory in the return match against Bahrain, added: “The game was very difficult, Bahrain has made a good investment and has a good league.” Our players have been playing their games without spectators for about 2 years, and in this game, due to the presence of Bahraini spectators, there was pressure on our players, which became less and less obvious as time passed.

He continued: “This victory was achieved with the efforts of our players and we showed that we have the best in Asia.” As a coach, I am proud of them all.

The head coach of the Iranian national basketball team also referred to the Bahrain game and said: “I think they can create a challenge for them against Syria and Kazakhstan, and it remains to be seen what the results will be in those games.”

It is worth mentioning that the Iranian national team will return to Tehran after this game so that the players will be at the disposal of their teams and the basketball premier league will continue.

Iran’s national basketball team defeated Bahrain 82-66 in a home match in the first qualifying round of the 2023 World Cup, and today in the return match in Manama with a result of 100-64, it defeated the team another time.

In the next step, the Iranian national basketball team will host Kazakhstan on Tuesday, March 26, and on the eighth day of this month, they will host Syria at the Azadi Complex Basketball Hall.

Mustafa Hashemi’s students will also play away against Kazakhstan and Syria on July 10th and 13th of next year, respectively.

At the end of the first stage of the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, which include the first, second and third windows, the top three teams in each group will advance to the second round of the qualifiers, which includes the fourth to sixth windows.

Accordingly, 12 teams from the Asia-Pacific region will advance to the second qualifying round of the 2023 World Cup.