All Roads Lead to Manila: Gilas Entry #22 – Kazakhstan & Bahrain Team Previews

It is July 27, 2013 here in Manila, and there are only 5 nights left before the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championship Tournament, the first ever held in these parts in four decades, kicks off at the ultramodern Mall of Asia Arena and the historic Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Now that the rosters of the participating teams have finally been revealed and confirmed, I can finally make the customary team-by-team previews of the tournament. This is, of course, something not done in much detail by other media outfits, so I am pretty excited. I plan to go through the groups starting with Group D and ending with Group A. Each post will focus on two teams, with the exception of the Group C preview, which will include all three squads since FIBA Asia wasn’t able to find a well-prepared replacement for the suspended Lebanese (I am still sad I won’t see Fadi El Khatib play).

For this second post, I will look at a Gulf team that is on the rise thanks to its new naturalized player and a Central Asian team that is favored to sweep through its Group D assignments.

Anton Ponomarev and the Kazakhs are favored
to sweep their first round foes.
(image from BCAstana.kz)

I will name a few key players for each team, some points of interest, and the general outlook for its performance. Where possible, I will also specify the team’s international nickname/moniker. Please note that a country’s basketball team usually uses the same moniker as its football team, with a few notable exceptions of course.

Game? Alright. Lezz do dis.

Folks, I present to you Bahrain and Kazakhstan.

BAHRAIN (BRN

Moniker: Al Theeb Al Ahmar (The Red Wolves)

Qualification: Placed second in the 2012 Gulf Subzone Tournament to qualify, beating Oman, UAE, and Saud Arabia, but losing to Qatar in the Finals.

Last FIBA Asia Appearance: 2011 – 0 wins & 5 losses – Lost to China, the Philippines, UAE, and Indonesia.

Roster:

Name	Age	Height	Position
CJ Giles	28	6’11	C
Bader Malabes	26	6’2	G/F
Mohammed Hussain Ebrahim	26	5’10	G
Hussain Al-Tawash	27	5’10	G
Mohammed Quwayed	24	6’4	F
Ahmed Ismael Abdulaziz	23	6’0	G
Ali Abdulredha	23	5’11	G
Younes Quwayed	25	6’4	F
Subah Hanafi Azzam	20	6’5	C/F
Abdulrahman Mubarak	25	5’10	G
Ahmed Najaf Akbar	22	6’5	C/F
Ahmed Malallah	32	6’2	F

*Due to dearth of information on Team Bahrain, the height measurements of some players may not be accurate.

Key Players:

1) CJ Giles – Many Pinoys will remember Giles as one of the candidates Gilas “tried on” for naturalization. He was a good fit for coach Rajko Toroman’s system a couple of years ago, but his attitude was not exactly his most endearing trait. Now that he has a found a home with the Red Wolves, I am pretty sure he is out to prove, in front of the Filipinos, just how wrong Gilas was to drop him. Giles has the potential to lead the whole tournament in blocks and rebounds, while also being a very capable scorer. He can operate down low or shoot the occasional jumper. He is the biggest reason Bahrain will surely improve on its 15^th place finish in 2011.

2) Bader Malabes – Definitely the most familiar face on the Bahrain roster, Malabes will experience a homecoming of sorts in Manila. The former De La Salle Green Archer never did seem to find his bearings here in the Philippines, but he is somewhat of a hardcourt hero in Bahrain. In the 2011 Wuhan joust, Malabes was BRN’s leading scorer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to lead them here. I am itching to watch his match-up with India’s Vishesh Bhriguvanshi in the first round, but the problem is all of the Red Wolves’ Group D games will be held at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Bleh.

Bader Malabes should be Bahrain's ace in Manila.
(image from Sports.163.com)

Point of Interest:

1) Ready to Rise?– The addition of Giles instantly increases the competitiveness of the Bahrainis. Though they are missing some key veterans (the most notable is veteran forward Ahmed Al-Mutawa), I am sure this Gulf nation is ready to make some noise. On a good day, which means Giles will be dominant and the rest of the guys will make their threes, Bahrain has the potential to upset even the Kazakhs for leadership in Group D.

Tournament Outlook:

Though the next team in this post is the one pegged to top Group D, the Bahrainis should not be discounted. They fought toe-to-toe with Qatar in the 2012 Gulf Finals, losing by just 6 points. I have Bahrain as a slight favorite over the Indians, but I highly doubt if the Red Wolves will find any success in round 2.

KAZAKHSTAN (KAZ)

Moniker: The Snow Leopards

Qualification: Beat Uzbekistan in the lone Central Asian qualifying match.

Last FIBA Asia Appearance: 2009 – 4 wins & 4 losses – Beat India, UAE, Kuwait, and Japan, but lost to China, Qatar, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Roster:

Name	Age	Height	Position
Jerry Johnson	31	6’0	G
Anton Ponomarev	25	6’11	C/F
Timur Sultanov	32	5’11	G
Rustam Murzagaliev	21	6’5	G/F
Mikhail Yevstigneyev	29	6’7	F/C
Vitaliy Lapchenko	21	6’10	F/C
Nikolay Bazhin	23	6’5	F
Konstantin Dvirnyy	25	6’4	G
Dmitriy Klimov	25	6’8	F
Rustam Yargaliev	27	6’5	F/G
Leonid Bondarovich	24	6’9	F/C
Alexandre Zhigulin	19	6’9	C

Key Players:

1) Anton Ponomarev – Despite the presence of Kazakhstan’s first ever naturalized basketball player, Ponomarev will still be the barometer of this squad’s performance. The Snow Leopards will go as far as this once-NBA prospect can take them. Given his skill-set, Ponomarev should rank among the top five bigs in the tournament, alongside Yi Jianlian (CHN), Hamed Haddadi (IRI), Marcus Douthit (PHL), and maybe Quincy Davis (TPE), but he has to play with more urgency and consistency game in and game out. In last night’s tune-up against Gilas, he scored 14 points (hitting 4 treys) in the first half before getting bottled up for just 2 points the rest of the way.

2) Jerry Johnson – In much the same way Quincy Davis plugs the donut hole for Taiwan, Johnson plugs the Kazakhs’ dire need for a top-flight playmaker. Without Johnson, the Kazakhs are not a top 10 team in this tournament, but with “Triple J” (his full name is Jerry Jamar Johnson) calling the shots, the Snow Leopards should definitely make the quarterfinals.

Jerry Johnson changes the outlook for Kazakhstan.
(image from Demotix.com)

3) Rustam Yargaliev – In last night’s game, we didn’t see much from the veteran 6’5 wingman who plies his trade for BC Astana in the Kazakh and VTB leagues, but make no mistake, this guy is one of the aces up coach Matteo Boniciolli’s sleeve. He is a streaky sniper and a superb defender who has great size for his position. When KAZ faces the likes of Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Cho Sung-Min, and Sun Yue in round 2, count on Yargaliev to take on those assignments.

Points of Interest:

1) Fast Start – Grouped with two teams that placed outside the top 12 in 2011 and a team that is returning after a 12-year absence, it is a no-brainer that Kazakhstan should sweep all its first round games. If the Kazakhs hold form and manage to do this, then they will have managed to gain enough momentum to maybe upset any of the powerhouse quintets from Group C.

2) Dark Horse – Remember how Rasheim Wright positively impacted the Jordanians from 2007-2011? That’s potentially how Johnson can impact the Kazakhs this year and maybe for 2 more editions of the FIBA Asia tourney. Johnson gives them the kind of wing presence they’ve always lacked, and the kind of leader who should be able to pull everyone together when the going gets rough. Heck, they might even upset Korea, Iran, or China on a really good day.

Tournament Outlook:

Though the Kazakhs will face some really tough opposition in the second round, I have almost no doubt that they will make the quarterfinals of this tournament. Again, they should have an easy time sweeping Group D and then have a legit shot at upsetting any of the Group C qualifiers. Given all the teams’ current states, it’s probable that the Snow Leopards will face maybe the Philippines or Taiwan in the quarterfinals, both of which coach Boniciolli’s boys have a realistic chance of beating.

#parasabayan