Manolopoulos we must give young players a chance

Manolopoulos: we must give young players a chance

TEHRAN – Iran basketball coach Sotiris Manolopoulos emphasized the importance of providing opportunities to young players, noting that he does not always have his preferred players available.

The Greek coach reflected on the upcoming third window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers, where Team Melli will face India and Kazakhstan in the coming days.

“If you look at the recent performance of the national team over the past four years, when we set aside players like Arsalan Kazemi or Sajad Mashayekhi, the remaining players have either not played much or have spent minimal time on the court. For example, Sina Vahedi, who had a good game against Qatar, has played less than 10 minutes for the national team in recent years.”

“Matin Aghajanpour has been in a similar situation. He has made some good three-point shots. These are players with bright futures, and we have given them opportunities. The reason we are giving them this chance is that they are developing and improving. Players like Mehdi Jafari and Mohammadmehdi Heydari have not played for the national team at all, but they have performed well in the league, and we need to give them a shot,” he added.

“We had a tough training camp, and there were days when we couldn’t have the entire team present. A few players are injured, and Behnam Yakhchali and Meysam Mirzaei are unable to join the camp due to personal reasons,” Manolopoulos added.

“If we look back at the game against Qatar, we had a 44% three-point shooting rate. This level of scoring hasn’t been there in previous games. I do not have these players available every day, and this is an area we need to work on more,” he concluded.

source: tehrantimes.com