CHANGSHA-HUNAN (2015 FIBA Asia Championship) - Coming into the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, both China and Iran were heavily favored to figure prominently in the battle for the continent's lone direct qualification ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

These are the two countries who have been the most dominant in Asian basketball for the past 15 or so years. The last eight FIBA Asia Championship crowns, in fact, have been shared between these two teams. China won in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2011, while Iran won it in 2007, 2009, and 2013.

China's Outlook: One look at the size of China's frontline and it’s obvious that this team was built specifically to counter Iran, or, in particular, Hamed Haddadi. With four guys taller than 2.10m, the Chinese have more than enough warm bodies to bang against Team Melli's bigs. Perhaps more than that, however, the key thing for China will be their guard play. Guo Ailun is expected to be Team Dragon's lead playmaker, and he will need to bring his A-game against one of Asia's best, Mahdi Kamrani. If Guo can be equal parts aggressive and effective, China should be in good shape.

Iran's Outlook: Ever since their loss to the Philippines, Iran have been in a vengeful mood and they certainly won't let up against the tournament hosts. Mohammad Hassanzadeh has been a revelation for them and he will need to continue playing well to give Haddadi some help up front. Needless to say veterans Mahdi Kamrani, Hamed Afagh and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami will all need to play efficient and steady basketball if Team Melli are to pull the rug from under the Chinese. The home team will be coming into this match supremely confident, so Iran will need to match their energy.

Key Match-Up: There is no bigger match-up here than between the two giants in the middle - Yi Jianlian and Hamed Haddadi. By far, Yi has been the better performer so far, averaging 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game. Haddadi, meanwhile, has been putting up 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing - pedestrian by his standards. If Haddadi can come up with production that negates Yi's, guys like Bahrami and Kamrani have the capability to outplay the rest of the Chinese squad.

FIBA