Tournament favorites Jordan and Iran dropped their respective opening day matches in the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball tournament on Thursday at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan.
The Jordan Falcons, who finished a strong second behind the Philippines in 2023, dropped an 80-83 decision to Chinese Taipei.
On the other hand, Iran, a many-time Asian champion, fell short to Qatar, 59-53.
The Taiwanese relief on the hot shooting of Chen Ying-chun and Lin Ting-chen as the duo scored 16 and 15 points, respectively to pull off the upset victory.
Abdulla Olajuwon led Jordan with 18 points, while naturalized player Dar Tucker flirted with a double-double of 17 and eight rebounds.
Jordan’s second naturalized player Perin Buford banged in 18 points, grabbed rebounds and issued four assists.
The Falcons lost veteran big man Ahmad al-Dwairi to an apparent knee injury.
Jordan and Iran were recent victims of Gilas Pilipinas during their visit in Manila for the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
Qatar, which will host the FIBA World Cup next year, drew 21 points from naturalized player Michael Lewis.
Dejan Yanzic chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.
Martin Agazanpur led Iran with 15 points, which missed the services of 21-year-old stalwart Mohammand Amini. -
