Osama Daghles dazzles as Jordan upset 88-84 in quarter-final round of FIBA Asia Championship
The first quarter final of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship witnessed a major upset when Jordan defeated Iran by 88-84, weeding out the most formidable opponent in China’s path to glory this year. This was a miraculous effort by team Jordan that seemed to be struggling mid-way through the game.
Osama Daghles was the hero for the Jordanians. He scored 23 points, dished out five assists, clutched four rebounds and also made three steals in nearly 37 minutes. Zaid Ahmed Abbas also put in a brilliant effort with 10 points and 7 rebounds; Zaid Naem Alkhas had 14 points on a 5 of 9 shooting while Rasheim Wright and point guard Wesam Al-Sous had 12 point each for the Jordanians.
From Iran, Memphis Grizzlies star Hamed Haddadi made a double-double with game-high 27 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Three other Iranian player scored in double figures but none of them had more than 14 points.
Statistically, Iran was the better team in the game in nearly all facets of the game. They out-rebounded the Jordanians 52-29, out assisted them and had more points in the paint. However, it was their shooting that let them on the night. The Iranians barely managed a 41 percent shooting while their opponents finished on 47. That difference became more pronounced from the charity stripe, where the Iranians managed only 60 percent of their shots as compared to 80 percent by team Jordan.
Iran started the game with a 6-0 run, but soon found resistance from the Jordanians, who tried to remain in the hunt and finished the first quarter trailing by one at 19-20.
In the second quarter, Iran again started strongly with an 8-3 run, pushing their lead to 22-28. Team Jordan however was determined not to let Iran get away and with 1:46 minutes to go in the first half, they tied the scores at 35.
The teams went into the break with Iran leading by 36-35. In the third quarter Jordan switched roles from Iran and started with a 7-0 run to grasp a 42-36 lead. However, Iran bounced back and reeled off a 13-6 spurt to regain the lead and kept on pressing to finish the frame at 62-57.
Jordan picked up their game in the fourth. They started with four unanswered point and after Haddadi knocked down a jumper for Iran, they returned with a three to tie the game at 64. A deadlock followed after that but keyed by Daghles 8 points, Jordan used an 11-6 spurt down the stretch to carve out a win.
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