TEHRAN – Iran failed to qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Argentina after losing to New Zealand 69-73 on Friday.

In the match held at the Foshan Lingnan Mingzhu Gymnasium, Amirhossein Yazarloo was Iran’s top scorer with 22 points, and New Zealand’s Tom Cowie scored 18 points.

Iran will play South Korea on Saturday in the competition’s 5-8 classification.

“We deserved to lose because our players didn’t to fulfil their responsibilities,” Iran coach Nenad Trunic said after the match.

“Our boys didn't respect to our primary rules but I have to say they are the best U16 basketball players in Iran and will have a bright future,” the Serbian coach added.

The 2018 FIBA U16 Asian Championship is the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the 2018 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.

The tournament is being held in Foshan, China from 2 to 8 April 2018.

The top four teams will represent FIBA Asia to the 2018 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.

The FIBA Asia U16 Championship is an under-16 basketball championship in the International Basketball Federation's FIBA Asia zone.

The event started in 2009 and is held bi-annually. The top placed teams compete in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup, which started in 2010.