SAITAMA, Japan — Patrik Auda scored 16 points, Blake Schilb added 14 and the Czech Republic wasted most of a 22-point lead before holding on to defeat Iran, 84-78, in the first game of the Olympic basketball tournament on Sunday.
Jan Vesely added 11 for the Czech Republic.
Behnam Yakhchali had a game-high 23 points for Iran (0-1), which trailed by 22 late in the third and by 21 in the fourth before putting together its comeback bid. Mohammad Jamshidi scored 16 and Hamed Haddadi had 15 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late for Iran.
Jamshidi's 3-pointer with 1:10 left got Iran within 80-76, but Schilb scored on each of the next two Czech possessions to help close out the win.
Iran opened the fourth quarter on a 15-2 run, getting within 69-61 on a three-point play from Yakhchali with 5:39 remaining. The Czechs missed nine of their first 10 shots from the field in the fourth, seeing their lead get trimmed to single digits for the first time since early in the second quarter.
Both teams return to play Wednesday, with Iran facing the U.S. and the Czech Republic playing France in Group A matchups.
Italy finishes with a flourish vs Germany

SIMONE Fontecchio scored 20 points, Nicolo Melli had seven points in a game-ending 12-0 run and Italy beat Germany, 92-82, in the opening games for both teams at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
Danilo Gallinari and Stefano Tonut each scored 18 for Italy, which rallied from a 12-point deficit and held Germany scoreless for the game's final 4:45. Melli scored 13 and Nico Mannion had 10 for Italy.
Maodo Lo scored 24 points for Germany, which led by 12 in the first half and went up 82-80 on a basket by Moritz Wagner with 4:46 remaining but never scored again. Issac Bonga scored 13, while Wagner and Andreas Obst each had 12 for Germany.
The Germans missed their final eight shots.
It was Italy's first game in the Olympics since losing the gold-medal game in 2004. Germany was making its first Olympic basketball appearance since 2008.
Both teams play again on Wednesday as Group B preliminaries continue; Italy faces Australia and Germany faces Nigeria.
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