The Philippine Online Chronicles

In a couple of days, the much awaited FIBA-Asia Championship will officially start in Wuhan, China. Though Filipino basketball fans got a treat when the NBA Stars visited the country a few weeks ago, nothing is better than watching our very own national team duke it out against Asia’s best.

The FIBA-Asia tournament happens almost simultaneously with the FIBA-Americas and the Eurobasket. All three tournaments will determine the representatives for each region in next year’s London Olympics. There’s one slot reserved for Asia in next year’s Olympics and whoever wins in the FIBA-Asia will represent the entire region.

This is the third and last part in a series of articles about this year’s FIBA-Asia Championship.

Tournament Overview

Group C (Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Jordan)

There are only a few teams that can match South Korea when it comes to speed, and Japan is  one of them.

Two years ago, Japan finished with a disappointing 10^th place finish due to the unavailability of most of its best players. This time around, the Japanese squad looks to bounce back, and with their current lineup Japan is one of the strongest contenders in this year’s FIBA-Asia Championship.

Japan’s Takeuchi twins, Joji and and Kosuke, are once again going to be the primary big men for the squad. Japan’s deadly perimeter game will surely get a boost with the return of the versatile Ryota Sakurai and the otherworldly outside sniping of Keijuro Matsui. The presence of Takuya Kawamura, who was not able to suit up in the past, gives Japan another dimension in their offensive game.

With so many offensive options, the Takeuchi twins’ job becomes a lot easier because they don’t have to worry about scoring that much. They’ll be able to focus much of their energy on defense.

Japan will surely have a competitive squad in this year’s FIBA-Asia Championship, but their over-reliance on their perimeter players could get them into trouble when they start to face elite opponents. In spite of that, don’t be surprised if Japan barges into the quarterfinal round.

Indonesia

In addition to the Philippines and Malaysia, Indonesia is the other qualifier from Southeast Asia. Just like Malaysia, Indonesia has a couple of solid shooters in their squad, but unfortunately, their lack of quality big men will make it difficult for them to even win a single game, let alone make it to the next round.

Indonesia is perhaps the weakest team in Group C and things aren’t going to get easier since they have to face Japan, Jordan, and Syria in the first round.

In spite of their slim chances, you better watch out for veteran point guard Mario Wuysang and shooting guard Rony Gunawan to make some noise in the tournament.

Syria

Syria was quite competitive in previous editions of the FIBA-Asia tournament, thanks largely to the presence of Michael Madanly, who averaged 33 points per game back in 2007.

Unfortunately, Madanly won’t suit up for Syria this time around and what’s worse is that reliable big man Wissam Yakoub also begged off from the tournament.

That means Syria will have to make do with a team that has been struggling mightily in recent tune-up games.

Syria appears to have cohesion problems and that’s one thing that every national team faces prior to an international tournament. However, expect this squad to pick up the pace and win a game or two in the first round.

Jordan

Just last year, Jordan appeared for the first time in the prestigious World Basketball Championship, because they finished 3^rd in the 2009 FIBA-Asia Championship.

Though longtime center Ayman Dais will not suit up this time around, Jordan remains as one of the toughest and most experienced teams in the tournament.

Leading the charge for Jordan is 6’5" point guard Osama Daghles, who continues to be one of the best point guards in Asia. Aside from him, naturalized player Rasheim Wright will surely get most of the touches in the perimeter to provide the scoring punch that Jordan needs.

Zaid Abbas, who ranked third in rebounds in the 2010 World Championships, is going to get heavy minutes and for sure together with center Islam Abbaas. These two will surely be a handful for any opposing frontline to deal with.

Jordan also has a solid supporting cast in Zaid Alkhas and Enver Soobzokov since both of them bring a ton of experience and composure to the squad.

Despite Jordan’s spotty outside shooting and limited post threat, they have a lot of veteran players who have been through to a lot of battles in the past and that said, expect this team to go really deep in the tournament.

Group D (Philippines, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, China)

Philippines

With seven of its players already drafted in the PBA, this could be the final tournament we will be seeing the original members of the Smart-Gilas squad play together as a team.

After this, only Chris Tiu and naturalized center Marcus Douthit will be left behind and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas or SBP will reload the squad by getting players from the collegiate level.

The Philippine team has improved steadily ever since it was formed almost three years ago, and under the guidance of Serbian mentor Rajko Toroman the players have been consistently exposed to the international brand of basketball.

The Philippines’ main weapon is obviously the 6’10" Douthit, who serves as the team’s defensive anchor and primary weapon at the post. Douthit is complemented by 6’9" Japeth Aguilar, who has become the team’s most effective shot blocker with his excellent athleticism.

For the first time in many years, the Philippines features a twin-tower duo that can defend and score at the same time. Douthit and Aguilar will also get a lot of help from veterans Kelly Williams, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Asi Taulava.

Aside from a solid combination of big men, the Philippines also has an excellent rotation of guards and wingmen in JV Casio, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, and Mark Barroca. All of these guys can bury shots from beyond the arc and even create for teammates when necessary.

The Philippines will be sending perhaps its best prepared and most balanced squad in recent memory and without a doubt, millions are watching if this team can qualify for next year’s Olympics.

United Arab Emirates

It’s been a while since the United Arab Emirates made some noise in this tournament and in fact, the team’s best finish was back in 1997 when it landed in fifth place.

UAE’s team is composed of young guys who are mostly undersized to play their respective positions.  Aside from that, most of the players don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to international basketball.

Since UAE has to face two really good teams such as China and the Philippines in their group, their only hope of advancing to the next round is by winning over Bahrain.

Bahrain

Just like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain will send a very young team whose players are going to play internationally for the very first time. If you’ve been following the UAAP, former La Salle Green Archer Bader Malabes will don the Bahraini colors on September 25.

This is the first time that Bahrain will join the tournament in 12 years, but since its squad is composed of youngsters, don’t expect this team to make any upsets. Though Bahrain can surprise UAE in Group C to advance to the next round, there’s little to no chance that Bahrain will advance to the quarterfinals.

China

The most successful team in the region, there’s a huge expectation for China to win this tournament convincingly and represent Asia in next year’s London Olympics.

Unfortunately, things aren’t really going China’s way with Yao’s retirement and the injury to explosive guard/forward Wang Shipeng.

In spite of that, very few teams can compete with China’s talent, size, and experience in the Asian region.

Without Yao and Wang, China will lean heavily on NBA player Yi Jianlian and former NBA player Wang Zhizhi. Aside from these two, 7’3 center Zhang Zhaoxu, who played for the University of California, will try to fill the void that Yao left.

Meanwhile, veteran players Zhu Fangyu, Liu Wei, and Sun Yue remain as important players for Bob Donewald’s system and that said, expect all of them to play big in their home court.

China will be playing with a chip on their shoulders after Iran dismantled them in the finals two years ago in Tianjin.

They will most likely sweep their group, unless the Philippines makes a major upset, and steamrolls everyone in the second round. Even if China is heavily favored to win it all, they’re no longer as invincible as they once were in Asia.