On February 25, Beijing time, the men's basketball world preliminary round broke out again, the Asian hegemon Iran was unexpectedly reversed by Kazakhstan, and the final collapse was hit by a wave of 25-11 counterattack frenzy, and finally lost to the opponent 69-73. The former super-hegemony of Asia has disappeared, and with the fall of Iran's golden generation, the Chinese team has lost a major rival to dominate Asia.
The Iranian men's basketball team is the biggest opponent of the Chinese men's basketball team in Asia in the past decade - there is no one. They have won the Asian Championship three times in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In the current world rankings, they are ranked 23rd and first in Asia. Kazakhstan, on the other hand, ranks only 9th in Asia and 70th in the world.
In terms of paper strength and past achievements, Iran can be said to be a complete victory over its opponents. However, this battle against Kazakhstan, the Iranian team has no advantage to speak of. As the first quarter began, Iran was at a disadvantage, completely suppressing the opponent on the offensive end, trailing 15-18 in the first quarter.
Although in the second quarter, Iran showed the spirit of veteran immortality, scoring 23 points in a single quarter, and before the end of the first half, with the advantage of the second quarter, it successfully countered the score 38-36. Iran continues to expand its lead, and Iran has established a 10-point lead after the first three quarters.
However, after the start of the final quarter of the game, Iran suddenly lost power on the offensive end, not only failing to attack successively, but also constantly giving opponents the opportunity to counterattack. In the end, with a small 13-0 surge in the final quarter, Kazakhstan completely reversed the situation and finally defeated Iran by 4 points.
In this battle, Iran's center Haddadi did not play with the team, but there were veterans such as Kamlanikazmi in the team, but the former Asian first guard and small forward, the two only scored 0 points and 8 points respectively, and have completely lost the style of Iran's golden generation. Not to erupt in silence, just to die in silence, perhaps, Iran, the super hegemon, will gradually fade out of the historical stage.