Qatar take on Iran in the FIBA Asia Championship on Friday.
Qatar will face Iran in the FIBA Asia Championship on Friday but the game is endangered of being defaulted due to the former’s player eligibility woes.
The Qataris were left with seven men on their roster, including one injured cager, after five of their players were ruled ineligible for the tournament. Among those ruled ineligible is NBA draftee Tanguy Ngombo, the squad's top player.
As a result, Qatar played with only six men against Uzbekistan in its opening Group B match and the game was stopped in the first quarter when five players fouled out.
Under FIBA rules, a team will lose by default if it has less than two players left in its roster. Thus, Uzbekistan was awarded a 27-12 win, the scoreline when the game was stopped.
Iran had no player issues but were made to sweat against Chinese Taipei in its first game. They had to rely on Samad Bahrami, who waxed hot in the fourth quarter as they escaped with a 49-37 victory. He finished with 18 points.
"A lot of our players are coming back from injuries," said Iran head coach Veselin Matic when asked about his team's sluggish start.
"Also this is the first game of the Championship. It was like a shock treatment for us to get our act together fast enough."
To watch and bet on Qatar v Iran live, simply do the following:
2. Sign in
3. Select the Qatar v Iran match
