Asian clubs basketball championship

[ronaldo]

Saba battery won the first 2 games against muharraq bahrain 78-37 and philippine NT 101-88.

Do you have the live stream link to iran tv 3 (sport channel) ? please provide us with it.

[Ata]

[Masoud_A]

Download this file and open it with Media Player:
http://rapidshare.com/files/31234797/tv333.asx.html

[ronaldo]

which one i should download , there's many stuff on that website ?? is it free or u have to pay for it ??

[princeofpersia1]

Will IRIB2 show the game?

[princeofpersia1]

IRIB3 LINK

mms://live.iransima.ir/irib3

[princeofpersia1]

3rd Quarter 47-39 to Saba

[princeofpersia1]

81-67 Win for Saba Battery

[Ata]

great

[Ata]

Saba battery to the semifinals

[RahmanRezai]

Are all countries participating? China, Japan, Australia?

Really great to be in the semifinals if so.

[Arashi_Washi]

Saba Battery has 2 be one of the best clubs in Asia if you ask me..Possible the best aswell...

They have constantly won the Middleeast part region competition being the strongest club in the Middleeast where we have leagues such as Lebanese, UAE or Qatar....

Now in the Asian Basketball Championships they are once again totally dominant showing That Iranian basketball league has improved Rapidly..!!

One question pops in my mind is why cant our soccer league or clubs be this way..quite funny....

Saba Battery will now take on Al-Rayan of Qatar in the Semifinals.!!

Winning this tournament will be fantastic for this club,

The furtherst they have come in this tournament was in 2005 where they made the Semifinals and lost out to Fastlink of Jordan

They will hope to win the trofy this time around...

Good luck saba and hopefully they will bring pride to Iran by winning this...
Ya Ali madad

[Arashi_Washi]

Btw This trofy will come expected after Saba Battery CRUISED to a GREAT Trofy in the West Asian Club Championships...A trofy which was great because that was the 2nd time in a row they had won it.!!

Asian Basketball Championships. This one..Saba Battery are in the Semifinals are like the AFC CL of Asian Club soccer....

If Saba Battery wins this they will surely have something to celebrate about

[Arashi_Washi]

Interview with Saba Batterys highly rated French international player Dioumassi..Talking very highly about Iran and he wanting to stay in the country

Interview is very new..it was done just before they made the semifinals of the Asian Club Championships only days ago


Touria Ghaffari, Press TV The start of the millennium opened a new era in the world of Iranian basketball with the arrival of foreign players into the Iranian teams. Makan Dioumassi is one. The French national basketball team player turned down offers from his club the Villeurbanne ASVEL of Lyon and other major European teams to come to Iran and join Saba Battery.
Touria Ghaffari, Press TV

The start of the millennium opened a new era in the world of Iranian basketball with the arrival of foreign players into the Iranian teams. Makan Dioumassi is one. The French national basketball team player turned down offers from his club the Villeurbanne ASVEL of Lyon and other major European teams to come to Iran and join Saba Battery. The 35 year old law graduate and Olympic silver medalist wanted to discover life beyond basketball.
Makan Dioumassi took timeout to talk to Press TV's Touria Ghaffari about his life, basketball and his experience of Iran.

What brought you over to Iran despite very good offers from top European teams like Bologna?

Yes I did receive good offers from Italian, Spanish and Russian clubs. My own club offered me the position of their Sports Director. I had been playing basketball for 15 years and I knew I still wanted to continue but not just for the money. I was interested in doing something completely different. I had always been fascinated by history and ancient civilizations. I was really interested in discovering more about them. So when I got the offer from Iran I thought well why not.

Among your offers were there any from other countries in this region?

Yes, there were offers from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. I told you about my interest in ancient history and old empires, so it was important for me to come to Iran and see it for myself.

How was your political perception of Iran before you came over?

Regarding the geopolitics, Iran is a country quite apart form the rest of the world. The journalists have created their own propaganda for Iran especially over the uranium enrichment and the nuclear power, giving the world a frightening image. But I was not scared to come here. I already had some Iranian friends in Paris and over here I have found that people are very open and kind, and never hostile. This has truly touched me.

Not even hostile to the American players in Iran?

No, not at all. I know many American players who have been living here for several years. They are actually enjoying their life over here.

What is your opinion of Iran's Nuclear Program and the attention it is receiving?

For me what is going on now is nothing but politics. Iran has the backing of many countries and all this is irrational and illogical pressure forced by the Americans.

Do you find that your social life is limited over here?

No, not at all. I am discovering new things and new people everyday and as I said Iranians are very open and welcoming and at the same time traditionalists because they are proud of their country. I am receiving an enormous amount of hospitality from my Iranian teammates. They are always very kind and nice to me, inviting me over to eat with them in their homes.

Has any new experience you gained here changed you or your life?

I feel like a message bearer now. My friends call me from all over the world and worry about my security in Iran. It's because of the news they see and hear about Iran. But I reassure them that it's not like that and ask them to come here and see it for themselves.

Have you found any similarities between the Iranian and French cultures?

They are very close and I know there are a lot of ties between the two nations. The Iranians think well of the French. People here also live very similar to people in France. In France we have a large immigrant community. I have a white French mother and a Black African father. So we have a lot of mixtures and Iran also has a lot of different communities, with Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Jews, Arabs and Persians making a very good mixture.

Has anything ever shocked you here?

No, I never got a shock, because I am a type of person who never has any prejudgments. People who get shocks are those with certain expectations. They are often deceived by their thoughts.

What is your opinion of the Iranian Basketball?

The positive point is that the Iranian basketball really has the potential to improve and become one of the leaders in the region. But the negative point is the lack of infrastructure and a wide gap between the first top four teams and the rest. There is also a shortcoming with the marketing of the sport. Even though tickets are free, there are not many people who come to watch the games. But for football there are thousands who pay to go and watch a match.

So what is your view of the Iranian spectators who do come to see the matches?

They are very enthusiastic. Most of them are younger generation but there are those who have been fans for long, too. However, it is not like in the West, where going to basketball matches is treated as a family outing. And this is something the Iranian Basketball Federation must work on.

How has the Iranian basketball or playing here been a challenge for you?

I had to adapt myself to the Iranian style of playing the game.

So why didn't you try to adapt others to your style?

Well, I am just one single person even though I do transfer my experience to the coaches and the other players.

Did you encounter any obstacles while communicating or cooperating with your team mates?

No never. We are lucky in this respect. Players usually speak English so we never had any communication barriers. We never had any problems with cooperation either.

You were born a Muslim. Have you learned anything more about Islam since living here?

For me religion is something inside the heart. Muslims may vary their religious routines in different parts of the world. But what is important is that they are praying to
the same God. And that is what one should keep in mind. Since I came to Iran I have begun reading different books and learning about the different ways Muslim
denominations carry out their religious routines.

When you return to Europe, how may your experience here change your life there?

It will not change the way I live, but it will reinforce the way I think. I always believed that one should not judge things without having had a direct experience with it.
For me living in Iran and experiencing the Iranian way of life and the cultural and political aspects of it reinforces my motto.

How can sports bring countries with conflicts together? Can we have dialogue through sports?

Yes, sports can create very strong links between people. When you play a sport you do not need to talk. You just pass the ball, you exchange it. Only in sports you can do this.

Will you consider staying in Iran if you get new offers or do you prefer to go back to Europe?

I will definitely stay more, because I feel good here. I am discovering the people and the country. I have been to Shiraz, but there are still many places left to see.

[Behzad12]

ive read alot about the b-ball players in iran and they are all pretty happy with there lifestyle in iran, but i do agree with him, iran basketball still has ways to go before even becoming considered a top b-ball nation in the world. hopefully that will happen one day.