TEHRAN - Iranian basketball expert Farahnaz Shams lauded the country's basketball federation for creating favorable conditions for the women's National Team.

Indonesia won the final game against Iran with a one-point lead, 55-54, making them the champions of the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division B and they advanced to Division A.

“The results of Iran national team were remarkable,” said Shams in her interview with Tehran Times.

“Providing the women's national team with several training camps and warm-up matches before the FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division B was a great job by the Iran Basketball Federation, and I appreciate it.

“The warm-up matches had a positive impact on the national team's performance by boosting the confidence and spirit of both players and coaches,” she added.

Iran won their opening match against Malaysia, marking their first Women's Asia Cup victory since 1974. They then defeated Mongolia before losing to Indonesia 65-56 during the preliminary round. Despite the loss, they went on to beat Kazakhstan and Jordan, securing a spot in the final match.

“Iran made it to the final match by taking advantage of the absence of teams like Syria and Lebanon.

“The final match ended by a single point, and the Iranian players’ lack of experience proved to be the cause, as they had never encountered such pressure in an official event before,” added the head coach of Zob Ahan Club basketball team.

She also hailed the Greek head coach of Iran national team, Eleni Kapogianni,

“Eleni was able to help the players show their best in the tournament, leading to their outstanding performance in Bangkok. Each player performed well, and the team's success can be attributed to their collective effort,” concluded Farahnaz Shams.