Iran, China Reach Asian Games Finals

 Jakarta, Indonesia – The 18th Asian Games are drawing to a close but there is still a lot of sports action to enjoy. In basketball, Iran and China advance to the Men’s Basketball Final, which will be held on September 1st.

Both squads easily dispatched their opponents in the semifinals. Hamed Haddadi powered Iran with 23 points to an 80-68 win over South Korea. The Iranian team came together and outlasted a 37-point explosion from Korea’s Ricardo Ratcliffe. The naturalized center’s heroics were not enough to lift South Korea as his teammates struggled with their shots from beyond the 3-point arc, connecting on just 4-of-14 attempts from deep.

China used a masterful second-half performance to destroy Chinese Taipei 86-63. The turning point of the game came in the third quarter when China went on a 31-12 run to build a massive lead. Houston Rockets center Zhou Qi dropped 22 points and 16 boards for China.

China and Iran faced off in Incheon, South Korea in 2014 with China taking home the gold. China has won eight Asian Games gold medals, while Iran is still on the hunt for it’s first.