DOHA: Jordan and Iran advanced to the Asian Games men's basketball semifinals. Iran reached the semifinals for the first time in 55 years after prevailing over Japan 68-64.

Samad Nikkhah's lay-up with 15 seconds left broke the tie and helped Iran clinch the win and advance. Jordan moved into the last four with a 99-91 win over Kazakhstan.

Nikkah and Mahdi Kamrany were Iran's top-scorers with 14 points apiece, while Hamed Ehadadi and Aidin Bahrami Nikkah added 12 each. Ryota Sakurai scored 14 points for Japan while Orimo contributed 13.

Iran coach Fredrick Onica said his team's strong defence made up for other inconsistencies. ``We gave up some shots; we also had some problems with (Japan's) No. 9 (Takehiko Orimo),'' said Onica. ``Our big men didn't attack the basket all that well. Sometimes we tend to have breakdowns in rotation and that tends to affect our game. But defence is definitely the key to winning games.''

``Rebounds made the difference,'' said Japan's head coach Kimikazu Suzuki. "Japan and Iran both missed a lot of shots, but Iran had many points from (offensive) rebounds. That was our problem.'' — Agencies

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