TAYLORSVILLE -- If NBA players ever want to complain about a travel schedule, they should get ahold of Rajko Toroman's itinerary which starts today.

"If we want to play the great teams, we have to make sacrifices and we have to travel," Toroman said.

Monday, however, offered a small slice of Tehran and beyond. About a quarter of the crowd at Salt Lake Community College turned the event into a soccer-like atmosphere -- constant cheering, rhythmic instrument noises and flag waving. Hardly like the typically stoic NBA atmosphere that persists for most of the nights.

Iran lost to the Jazz summer league team, 82-57, after playing more than half the game without its best big man, who left with a back injury. A top point guard was already hurt, too, and a country just getting used to the sport could hardly afford such misfortune.

Toroman, a Serbian who has coached the team for 1 1/2 years, was appreciative of Iran's effort and Utah's hospitality. The team played some scrimmages in Lehi last week and lost both games at the Revue, counting a 79-62 setback to Dallas on Saturday.

"We qualified for the Olympics (by winning the Asian Championship last August) but we are not going with the thought of winning a medal," Toroman said of a country that hasn't played on such an international stage in 60 years. "We came here to learn, as well. Our goal continues to be the 2010 World Championships in Turkey. By then, we'll have a team of players mostly between 25 and 27 years old. Right now, all of our players play in the Iranian league, which is not so strong."

The Jazz left impressed with the visitors. "They played hard," said Utah's recent first-round draft pick, Kosta Koufos, who battled early foul trouble and finished with four points in 17 minutes.

Utah only received 20 points from the trio it will have around beyond the Revue's end on Friday. Kyrylo Fesenko had six points, while fellow second-year player Morris Almond had 10. A spectacular second-half dunk over two Iranians was waved off, as Almond was called for traveling.

"It was all very exciting," Toroman said.

And very ceremonial. Iranian flags were aplenty in the section opposite the team bench. The teams exchanged gifts before tipoff (an international custom), and the beefed up Lifetime Activities Center security hardly seemed necessary. Politics never came into play and jeering wasn't audible during player introductions.

Maybe it picked up a little from the Jazz fans/Americans as Iran built a 22-14 lead after the first quarter (10 minutes, two fewer than the NBA's regular clock).

The most touching moment was a halftime ceremony in which the Jazz gave away No. 8.

Point guard Deron Williams isn't playing for Iran. But the Jazz gave a jersey with that number plus the name of national team player Aidin Nikkah Bahrami, who died last December in an automobile accident, to his mother and brother, Samad -- who's also on the team.

The cheering was in unison then, and stayed that way the rest of the game. The Iran fans kept enjoying the night, even as their team wore down and the outcome became inevitable.

"I hope our fans weren't too disappointed," Toroman said. "We had some trouble with hurt players, but we are getting better and we are really happy we could be a part of this."

•Discount tickets: The Jazz are offering $5 tickets to the three-game Tuesday package. Plus, each purchase is good for a free ticket to a minor-league baseball game of the Salt Lake Bees.

The first game is 2:15 p.m. with Atlanta facing San Antonio, followed by Dallas-Golden State (4:30). The Jazz will play at 7 p.m. against New Jersey, whose roster includes former Utah State standout Jaycee Carroll.

Tickets can be purchased at the SLCC Lifetime Activities Center box office.

•Tip-ins: Former BYU point guard Austin Ainge is at the Revue. He spent last winter as a first-year assistant coach at Southern Utah, but has since joined the NBA champion Boston Celtics as a scout. His father, Cougar legend Danny Ainge, is the Celts' general manager. ...Utah is 1-2 at the Revue. ...Former UNLV standout, and current Utah Flash player Kevin Kruger left midway through the second quarter with a sprained ankle. He had just missed a 3-pointer and was fouled. Toroman was allowed to pick the Jazz player off the bench who would shoot the free throws, and Fesenko missed 2-of-3. ...15 of Utah's 17 players saw action, though former Utah standout Britton Johnsen is injured.

• Jason Franchuk can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it