Iran win WABA U16 Championship
24/04/2017
Asia
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Iran return to FIBA U16 Asian Championship, joined by Lebanon from WABA

TEHRAN (FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2017) - Iran will be returning to the FIBA U16 Asian Championship after winning the title at the West Asia Basketball Association U16 Championship 2017 over fellow qualifier Lebanon.

Ali Reza Zeynalzadeh collected 20 points and 10 rebounds and Seyed Alireza Mortazavi added a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds as Iran knocked off Lebanon 72-64 in the final game of round robin group play, which essentially was the title game at the WABA U16 Championship in Tehran.

Iran finished the five-team competition with a 4-0 record to book their ticket to the FIBA U16 Asia Championship 2017. Zeynalzadeh averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 4.8 steals in the competition.

By finishing in the two top at the WABA event, Iran makes its return to the FIBA U16 Asian Championship after missing out in 2015 at the hands of Iraq, who went winless at 0-4 this year.

Iran will be playing in their third FIBA U16 Asian Championship, which will be taking place this summer for a fifth time. Iran placed third in the first U16 continental event and were sixth in 2013.

The top three finishers from the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2017 - the date and host of which is still to be determined - will qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018.

Very proud of our boys! Silver medalist of WABA U16 Championship #U16WABA2017 #lebanon #Lebanesebasketball #basketball #Fiba

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Lebanon finished the WABA U16 event with a 3-1 record and also secured their third berth at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship after sixth-placed finishes in 2011 and 2015.

Lebanon’s Rayan Zaine Zanbaka led the competition in scoring with 29.0 points per game - including 42 points in the game against Iran in which he made 24 of 27 free throws. He also averaged 9.5 rebounds and 4.3 steals a game.

Lebanese captain Gabrael Samaha averaged 11.8 points, a tournament-best 14.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.5 steals and a competition-high 5.3 blocks. Lebanon also had 2003-born Yousef Khayat chip in 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game despite being two years younger than the rest of the competition.

Syria took third place in the event with a 2-2 record thanks to Elias Azrie scoring 19.0 points a game; while Jordan were fourth at 1-3 as Fahed Tarjali averaged a double-double of 12.3 points and 10.5 rebounds. And Iraq took last place at 0-4 despite Mohammed Almahdi Abbas scoring 21.5 points a game.

FIBA