Iran’s Petrochimi was defeated against China Kashgar 90-86 at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016 semi-final on Saturday.

Naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche was in the starring role in this pivotal win for the host, posting a sublime double-double to lead his club past the Iranians. Fellow import Darius Adams also impressed, scoring 20 points to go along with 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Mugedaer Xirelijiang and Makan Kelanbaike both came up big, too, hitting crucial shots in the fourth quarter and ending up with 11 and 10 points respectively.

The Iranians were paced by Behnam Yakhchali and James White, each of whom scored 26 points, while Gerald Robinson missed more than he made as he tallied just 12 points.

This was a tough loss to take for Petrochimi as they became the first Iranian club to miss the Champions Cup Final since 2006.

Petrochimi will face Al-Ahli of the UAE in third place match on Sunday while China Kashgar meet Al-Rayyan of Lebanon in the final match.

The 24th edition was held in 2013 in Amman, Jordan, where Iranian club Foolad Mahan Isfahan emerged victorious.

The Fiba Asia Champions Cup that started way back in 1981 was a yearly event since 1990 before being stopped in 2013. After a two-year break the club-level championship returns to Fiba's regular competition format.