The 2013 West
Asia Basketball Association (WABA) Men’s Championships, which served as the
qualifying tournament for the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships in Manila,
just ended and the top three teams after the three-day competition were Iran
(Champions), Lebanon, and Jordan.
This tournament
had two slots to the Manila tourney at stake, but because Iran already gained
entry by winning last year’s FIBA Asia Cup, Lebanon and Jordan were awarded the
two other WABA slots to the biennial meet.
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| Samad Nikkhah Bahrami accepts the trophy as Iran bags the 2013 WABA crown. |
In the final day
of hoop wars, Iran defeated Lebanon in overtime thanks to the superb
performance of ever-improving big man Asghar Kardoust. Kardoust, who usually plays
behind Toronto Raptors center Hamed Haddadi, continues to show the vast
improvement first seen during Iran’s conquest of the FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo
last year. Kardoust scored 16 points against Jordan on Day 1 and poured in 22
against the Lebanese on Day 3, including 10 in the extra session. On Day 2. Kardoust
played sparingly against Iraq, scoring 4 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in
under 15 minutes of action. Kardoust should be a big problem for any team Iran
will face in Manila this coming August.
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| Asghar Kardoust continues to improve for Team Iran. |
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| Aren Davoudi and Oshin Sahakian lead Iran's victory march around the arena after bagging the title. |
Lebanon, despite
the loss, also advanced to the 2013 FIBA Asia meet by virtue of beating Iraq
and Jordan in Days 1 & 2. As usual, living legend Fadi El-Khatib reigned
supreme for Lebanon with 20 points against Iraq, and then he followed it up
with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists against Jordan a day after. That
triumph over Jordan assured Lebanon of the second WABA slot in Manila. It is
worth noting that this Lebanese quintet is backstopped by naturalized player
Rayshawn Terry, who is incidentally already the third naturalized American to
play for the Lebanese NT since 2011. Sam Hoskin played for the Cedars in Wuhan
two years ago, while Garnett Thompson donned the Lebanese jersey in the FIBA
Asia Cup last year. Some other names are expected to be named to Lebanon’s
final roster for Manila, most notably wingmen Elie Estephane and Ahmad Ibrahim
along with Lebanese-Australian center Julian Khazzouh.
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| Fadi El-Khatib continues to be the best Lebanese cager around. |
Jordan, the
silver medalists in the previous FIBA Asia Men’s Championships, booked the last
WABA ticket to Manila after beating Iraq, 86-80. The Jordanians struggled in
the entire tournament due to their missing the services of stalwarts Sam
Daghlas and Zaid Abbas, both of whom chose to concentrate on their tenures with
their respective clubs in the Chinese Basketball Association. It is also
uncertain whether both Daghlas and Abbas will be with Al Nashama in Manila this
August, since both guys already signified their intent to retire from
international hoops. It is worth remembering, though, that Lebanon’s Fadi
El-Khatib also “retired” in 2011 before returning to action last year, and
Jordan’s very own Ayman Idais also already issued his retirement in 2011
before, just like Fadi, returning to national team duty. One guy to look out
for in Jordan’s roster is Mohammad Shaher Hussein, a 23-year old, 6’10” center
who is tagged as the future bulwark of Jordanian hoops. He normed 14.0ppg in
this tourney, including scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against
Lebanon on Day 2.
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| Mohammad Shaher Hussein is an up-and-coming center for Jordan. |
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