DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - One of Iran's newer ball clubs is set to face their biggest test by far as Tabiat will slug it out with the best of the best in the upcoming Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) 2025.
The Iran Basketball League outfit secured their place in the continent's most prestigious club competition after going all the way to the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 2025 championship bout.
Coach Mehran Shahintab and his wards eventually settled for a runner-up finish against the now two-time champions Al Riyadi, but it was nonetheless a huge achievement for a young organization.
Known in the food business, Tabiat ventured out into professional sports some years ago before deciding to enter the domestic basketball league in 2023, and went on to win the crown in just their maiden season.
That proved to be their ticket to WASL-West Asia, where they also made waves and ultimately finished in second place as well behind the Yellow Castle, who swept the competition for a successful 'three-peat.'
Some may choose to forget those silver-medal campaigns but that's still quite a feat not just for teams as relatively new as Tabiat, but for a country that has long been highly regarded in the basketball scene.
Iran, to this day, are still revered as one Asia's best not just in the national team context but within the club competition circuit, too, particularly in the meet erstwhile known as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
Before Tabiat, the country has been represented by 10 teams and appeared for 21 editions of the tournament, with Shahrday Gorgan the most recent to compete as they were part of the BCL Asia cast in 2024.
The Iranians have won a total of 10 medals in the contest, including six golds which is tied for most among nations. The other with the same amount? Lebanon. That's why this year's tilt could be a tiebreaker of sorts.
Can Tabiat break that deadlock?
That could be too high of a target but this bunch definitely won't just go to the June 7-13 showpiece to just show up. Succeeding is their main objective, for sure, with some of their most important guys leading the way.
Sina Vahedi, for one, will have some unfinished business in his BCL Asia return. He was part of the Gorgan team which fell just short of a medal after bowing to the Hiroshima Dragons in the Third-Place Game.
Now the star guard has an opportunity at a podium finish, a hunger which he showed in the last WASL season through solid per-game numbers of 22.3 points and 5.8 assists during the Final 8 in Lebanon.
Another big piece - literally and figuratively - in their quest for triumph is Ivan Buva. The well-travelled center was one of the WASL-West Asia League's best players with 20.9 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Not to be forgotten are the other key cogs such as fan favorite Perry Petty do-it-all Stedmon Lemon, as well as local talents like elite rebounder Arman Zangeneh and Amir Gholizadeh, to name some.
FIBA
