By the end of Saturday night, only one will still have a shot at the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 title.

Australia and Iran have taken different routes to get here. The Boomers have been all business, sweeping Group A and cruising past the Philippines in the Quarter-Finals. Their average winning margin of 25.3 points per game tells the story of a team barely tested, with maybe just one bad half of basketball in the entire tournament.

Iran’s road, however, has been bumpier but no less remarkable. The Group B winner has twice stared down late deficits, first against Japan in the Group Phase, then in the Quarter-Finals against Chinese Taipei, when it came from 21 points down to steal a win.

With a younger, retooled core missing some of Team Melli’s iconic veterans, they arrive in the last four undefeated. However, as seasoned veteran Arsalan Kazemi termed themselves during the course of the competition, "We are the underdogs."

These two have clashed on the international stage plenty, with Iran even securing a victory over Australia in a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers meeting. However, they have only once faced each other at the FIBA Asia Cup, which was a 79-56 Boomers win in the 2017 Final.

For Iran, this is a chance to gain a measure of payback and reach the Final for the first time since that edition. For Australia, it’s about keeping their perfect all-time FIBA Asia Cup record intact and moving one win away from a third straight crown.

With unbeaten records, contrasting styles and a place in the championship game at stake, Saturday’s clash has all the ingredients of a Jeddah classic.