Azad University Tehran (Superleague) agreed terms with 32-year old Lithuanian-Swiss guard Rolandas Alijevas (192-87kg-85). He played last season at Juventus in Lithuanian LKL league. In 32 games he had 9.0ppg, 2.6rpg, 6.0apg and 1.4spg. Alijevas helped them to make it to the semifinals. Quite impressive season as he was voted Eurobasket.com All-Lithuanian LKL Guard of the Year, named to 1st Team and named to All-Domestic Players Team. Alijevas also played 14 games in FIBA Europe Cup where he recorded 7.9ppg, 3.1rpg, 5.1apg (leader !!!) and 1.1spg (in top 4). The previous (14-15) season Alijevas played at BC Siauliai (also in LKL). The team played in three different competitions (!!!) that year, and he was exposed to basketball on different levels. In 38 LKL games he averaged 7.2ppg, 2.2rpg, 3.8apg and 1.0spg. Alijevas contributed to his team making it to the Lithuanian Cup Semifinals. Alijevas also played 6 games in FIBA Europe Cup where he got 7.8ppg, 1.3rpg, 3.3apg (top 5) and 1.0spg. He also played 8 games in Baltic League where he got 10.0ppg, 3.5rpg, 4.9apg and 1.3spg. Alijevas contributed to his team winning the Baltic League championship (twice). He represented Lithuania at the World University Championships in Bangkok ten years ago. Alijevas is quite experienced player. He has played also professionally in France, Germany (Phoenix Hagen), Greece, Poland (Polonia W-wa), Russia (Krasnie Krilya), Slovenia and Ukraine (Budivelnyk) and Lithuania (Zalgiris, Nevezis, Vytautas and P.Zvaigzdes). Alijevas could be described:
A great offensive player, with a variety of offensive moves, fakes, and a great ball handling; he can penetrate inside when he wants, uses well both his hands, passes the ball well; needs to improve his outside shooting to become a star.
TEHRAN (FIBA Asia Cup 2017) - Iran may have to do battle at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 without their most dominant player, Hamed Haddadi (218-C-85). This comes after the hulking 2.18m center revealed his plans to rest an injury he sustained last year in preparation for the Asia Qualifiers to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in November. "After the FIBA Asia Challenge last year, I had an injury and had to rest, but I still needed to play with Sichuan in China," he shared. "My injury got wo... [read more]
TEHRAN (FIBA Asia Cup 2017) - Iran may have to do battle at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 without their most dominant player, Hamed Haddadi (218-C-85).
This comes after the hulking 2.18m center revealed his plans to rest an injury he sustained last year in preparation for the Asia Qualifiers to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in November.
"After the FIBA Asia Challenge last year, I had an injury and had to rest, but I still needed to play with Sichuan in China," he shared. "My injury got worse after, and now I need to rest this summer and be ready for the Asia Qualifiers." This is a big development for Iran, of course, as Haddadi is not only the team's best big man, he is also a valuable veteran presence on a squad now dominated by up-and-coming players. Haddadi would have been able to not only anchor Team Melli's interior play but also help guide some of the young guys on the national team.
"They are young and need to be in the camp and practice," he said. "If we want the national team to improve and be stronger, we should trust the young players and give them more time."
Among the young players expected to see action for Iran at the Asia Cup are hotshots Behnam Yakhchali, Sajjad Mashayekhi and Vahid Dalirzahan - all of whom played for Iran at the WABA Championship 2017. With these players making an impact for Iran, Haddadi is confident they will be a force to reckon with at the Asia Cup.
"Our national team is doing the best because we have good preparation with the young players for the FIBA Asia Cup," he explained. "I see the motivation in players' faces, and I know everybody will do the best for the national team."
One stumbling block for Iran will be the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand in the Asia Cup this year. Both the Boomers and Tall Blacks are elite national sides, and having them may dampen the odds of Iran returning to the top of the podium. Haddadi, however, welcomes this development. He knows that for the level of play in Asia to further improve, teams will need to play much better competition. "I believe New Zealand and Australia will improve Asian basketball," he said. "If we want to play at the world quality, then we should play with more great teams, and these teams can help us."
Haddadi has been included in Iran's 24-man pool, but should he, indeed, miss the Asia Cup, new coach Erman Kunter will still have some rising stars who can carry the scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking cudgels. These include Rouzbeh Arghavan, Arsalan Kazemi and perhaps even Mohammad Torabi. Still, there is something to be said about having Asia's most dominant center of the past decade playing for your team, and Team Melli will most certainly still prefer having Haddadi on board for the Asia Cup.
TEHRAN (FIBA Asia Cup 2017) - Behnam Yakhchali (196-SG-95) is expected to be one of the big stars for Iran in the coming FIBA Asia Cup 2017, and that does not seem to faze the young man one bit. At just 21 years of age, the 1.95m wingman is already projected to be Iran's ace for the foreseeable future, and though that may place undue pressure on others, Yakhchali seems to have embraced it. He debuted for Team Melli's senior team as a wide-eyed 19-year-old back in 2014, already impressing... [read more]
TEHRAN (FIBA Asia Cup 2017) - Behnam Yakhchali (196-SG-95) is expected to be one of the big stars for Iran in the coming FIBA Asia Cup 2017, and that does not seem to faze the young man one bit.
At just 21 years of age, the 1.95m wingman is already projected to be Iran's ace for the foreseeable future, and though that may place undue pressure on others, Yakhchali seems to have embraced it. He debuted for Team Melli's senior team as a wide-eyed 19-year-old back in 2014, already impressing friend and foe with his instincts and, more importantly, his explosive outside shooting. He was part of the team in their 2015 campaign in Changsha-Hunan, where the Iranians were dethroned and placed 3rd overall. In that tournament, Yakhchali still played second fiddle to household name Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, but with the veteran forward not in the pool this year, the onus is on Yakhchali to carry a bigger responsibility and a heavier scoring load.
By all intents and purposes, though, the Shahrekord native looks ready. He put up 16.6 points per game at the WABA Championship 2017 earlier this year, scoring in double-figures in every game as Iran placed 2nd behind bitter rivals Lebanon. Can he continue to do that in Beirut for the FIBA Asia Cup in August?
Only time will tell, but he sure sounded confident in a recent interview with FIBA.com, where he talked about their level of preparation and a couple of their other key players. How are Iran's preparations so far for the FIBA Asia Cup? We started our practice immediately after our season, then we played preparation games versus China. We are looking for some other games to be ready for the FIBA Asia Cup. What can you say about having Jordan, Syria and India in your group? All those teams are really tough, but we are confident we will go there so focused and ready. Of course, we will give our best against every opponent.
What can you say about having French-Iranian Navid Niktash in the Iran national pool? It was his first time playing in Iran. He is a really good player, and he can help us during our games in the FIBA Asia Cup.
Which players do you think will step up for Iran, especially with veterans like Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and Mahdi Kamrani no longer around? Bahrami and Kamrani were really good players, but we have other good players with us this time also. Right now, everyone is trying to do his best for the national team.
Do you think your legendary center, Hamed Haddadi, will still be dominant? I think Haddadi is so good and will still be dominant in the next 4-5 years. He is the perfect leader for our team as we play for the gold medal in FIBA Asia.
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