The Iranian petroleum industry has invested heavily in basketball and achieved satisfactory results. The presence of two powerful teams – Sanat Naft Abadan Basketball Club and Petrochimi Bandar Imam Basketball Club – in Iran's basketball pro league bears proof to such progress. These two teams are undoubtedly the strongest basketball teams in Iran and are making great contribution to national team. However, Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC is more famous due to its history and experience, and has managed to win international awards. Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC was the only representative of Iran in the recent Asian matches and finished in the fourth position. This title is significant for Iran's basketball. Now it is showing a stronger presence in the new season of pro league and alongside Sanat Naft Abadan it claims the championship title. This point is laid bare by widespread activities conducted by the Ministry of Petroleum in basketball.

Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC Targets Title

Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC enjoys a long history in Iran and it has been the number one in Iran for years. Over the past two years it has preserved its pro league championship title, and has represented Iran in the Asian clubs championship for years. After winning in the pro league, Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC made its way as representative of Iran to China to compete with Asian teams. Had it not faced bad luck, Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC would have won Iran a medal. The team finished in the fourth position. It was a decline compared with previous years; however, it was satisfactory in light of current circumstances in Iran.

Fourth Ranking Plus Bad Luck

Despite all problems and challenges, Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC found its way into Asian matches thanks to its lineup of young and experienced players. The presence of basketballers like Arsalan Kazemi, Oushin Sahakian, Behnam Yakhchali and two famous foreign players had placed the team in appropriate conditions.

The strong progress of Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC into semi-finals had cleared the way for success. Alas, bad luck did prevent the famous team from reaching the finale. That did not let them perform their capabilities and finished fourth, down from last year's third position. However, this year's result may not be as bad as one thinks.

Renewed Presence in Pro League

Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC found its way into the pro league while maintaining its good conditions following the Asian clubs' cup.

For its part, Naft Abadan has become stronger than previous years. However, Petrochimi Bandar Imam is determined to reclaim its high position in the country. Any team supported by the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum would turn out to be successful anew. But this time the rival team also belongs to the petroleum industry family. A good game ahead!

Mehran Shahin-Tabe', Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC coach:

I'm Happy with Team Performance

Needless to say, Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC owes its success to its head coach. Mehran Shahin-Tabe' is a well-educated and experienced basketball trainer. Having brought together veteran and young basketballers, he has managed to promote the Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC team to a good position. He hopes to win numerous honors in the future.

Below is an interview with Shahin-Tabe':

Q: The fourth title in Asia is not a better one than the last year. Why did that happen?

A: I don't want to find pretexts to justify the failure, but I have to acknowledge that we ran into many problems. I've always said that the timing of Asian club matches is very bad. It coincides with training of Iranian teams and our players have to go to Asian games while they are returning from training and they are very exhausted. We could not have enough training and even during matches problems were created for us.

Q: Do you mean lack of cooperation on the part of FIBA and Asian basketball federation?

A: Yes, unfortunately at the start of matches cards had not been issued for our players and we had to pay for the federation's debts. Furthermore, the referees were very biased against Iran and they did not like to see the representative of Iran win. Despite all this, I am happy with the performance of Iranian players and I believe that they did their best. We cannot find any fault with foreign players because we have had them for a short period of time and I blame myself for their non-satisfactory performance. I failed to manage the team as I wished and take competent players to have satisfactory performance.

Q: Many had counted on Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC as the champion. Did you share their view?

A: Naturally expectation from a great team is always high. Had we not been unlucky we would have reached the finale. But as I mentioned many problems befell us. I do express my apologies to people, media and the club managers for technical problems that did not let us finish champion. I hope to make up for this failure in the future.

Q: What are your plans for the basketball pro league?

A: We have a good team. Before anything else, I hope that this year's league would be better than ever and we would be able to go ahead smoothly until the end of matches.

Q: Will you put efforts into winning championship this year, too?

A: It's so premature to discuss it and we cannot speak about the latest title of Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC. We don't know other teams clearly and time is still needed. However, we will try our best to win and I hope that we would reach our objectives.

Q: Anything else that you would like to add?

A: I offer my gratitude to Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC managers and particularly Mr. Yavari who has been following up on the issues very seriously and has created favorable conditions for us. As the head coach, I will try my best to meet the expectations of the club managers and display my best performance.

By Amir Sadeqi-Panah

Courtesy of Iran Petroleum