TEHRAN - All hands were on deck as Iran breezed past Kuwait, 90-53, to start their FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024 campaign, Monday at the Prince Hamza Hall.

Salar Taheri and Amirmahyar Keramati finished with 13 points apiece, while Pedram Fallah and Mani Gigasari added 12 and 10 points, respectively, as all 11 players fielded contributed at least 2 points in a lopsided contest to start Group B play.

Taheri gave the young Team Melli the lead, 10-9, through a layup with 3:15 left in first quarter, which would spark the decisive run that broke the game wide open. Gigasari followed it up with back-to-back hits, before Sina Mohammadi and Arian Edalatfar joined in as Iran finished the period with a 12-0 run for a 20-9 lead, fiba.basketball reported.

Kuwait could no longer find any sort of rhythm after that. Things from bad to worse for them when they only mustered 5 points in the second chapter, while Iran kept their foot on the gas pedal and headed into the break with a 44-14 lead. Iran as a whole shot 46-percent from the floor, big thanks to their 24 assists - 17 more than their foes.

They also dominated the rebounding battle, 48-28. Adel Alsaied, on the other hand, registered 17 points and 6 rebounds to lead Kuwait. Ahmad Alrashaid was his lone support with 14 points in the loss.