TEHRAN - Iran showed Chinese Taipei the door, 86-73, to qualify for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024 Quarter-Finals, Friday at the Prince Hamza Hall.

The young Team Melli bucked a tepid start before pouring it in the third quarter, but still needed to fend off a tough stand by their counterparts in the endgame to punch their ticket to the next round - and forge a rematch with a fellow contender.

Iran set up a duel with New Zealand in another meeting between the two countries. They also met in the Quarters in 2018, where the Junior Tall Blacks went all the way to the Final before settling for a runner-up finish to rivals Australia.

Mahdi Heydari finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists for an efficiency of 28 as he bannered the victors' balanced attack in the triumph.

Sina Mohammadi supplied 15 points. Amirmahyar Keramati had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals, while Radin Alizadeh and Pedram Fallah added 13 and 12 points, respectively, as four of the five starters finished in twin digits.

Leading Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, was Liu Geng-Hao with 23 points in the loss. Huang Han-Sheng was his lone support with 17 points.