Samad Nikkhah Bahrami

TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (Mehr News Agency) -- Samad Nikkhah Bahrami has warned he will most likely quit Iran's basketball team over unreasonable expectations from the national team.

Iran finished in fourth places in the four-a-side Stankovic Basketball Continental and Adidas Istanbul Basketball Cups last month.

"We were beaten by the strong opponents in the two tournaments. We chose them since we were not afraid of playing them. Iran could have played with weak teams but faced the world's top teams such as Australia and Serbia to know our qualities and defects," Nikkhah Bahrami said.

The 2010 FIBA World Championship will be held in Turkey from August 28 to September 12. Iran is in Group B along with the U.S., Slovenia, Tunisia, Croatia and Brazil.

"If we want to get good results in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, we need to play the world's bests. Winning the title in the 2010 Asian Games in China is our goal but in Turkey we just want to put on a good performance," the 27-year old year added.

"Iran is the Asian champion but it doesn't mean we are able to beat the world's great teams. In Turkey, we will not be under pressure to defeat our rivals. Of course, we will have to defeat Tunisia in the group stage. Unreasonable expectations are high at the moment and I will likely bid farewell to the national team," Nikkhah Bahrami concluded.

... Payvand News - 08/21/10 ... --