Photo from Fiba.basketball
Hamed Haddadi almost sat out the whole game between Iran and the Philippines in the 2018 Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers Thursday night.
As it turns out, the 7-foot-2 Iranian behemoth was nursing a groin injury, according to South China Morning Post, though his team still found a way to defeat the visiting Philippine team, 81-73, at Azady Gym in Tehran.
Haddadi, though, was still subbed in with 46 seconds left late in the game even with the result all but decided.
He was averaging 16.75 points and 12 rebounds per game before the match against the Philippines.
In Haddadi’s absence, Nikkhah Bahrami and Sajjad Mashayekhi took charge, scoring 21 and 19, respectively.
Iran is now tied with Australia at the top spot of Group F with 6-1 records while the Philippines remained at third with a 4-3 record.