Five Arab Countries Qualify for FIBA Asia Cup 2017
Fadi El Khatib of Lebanon shoots over Yazan Altaweel (left) and Yousef Abuwazaneh (right) of Jordan. El Khatib scored 33 points in Lebanon’s victoryBY: David DeMaria/Contributing Writer
The West Asian Basketball (WABA) Championships concluded on Thursday in Amman, Jordan. The final day of the round-robin competition determined the four teams that would qualify for the 2017 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup, which will be held in August of this year in Beirut, Lebanon.
Lebanon having already qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup as hosts, used the tournament as a tune-up for this summer, and looked like a well-oiled machine. The Cedars went 5-0, earning impressive victories over defending WABA champions, Iran, and host country, Jordan. Lebanon was led in scoring by its legendary small forward, Fadi El Khatib.
Persian powerhouse, Iran, was also impressive, going 4-1 in the tournament, faltering only to Lebanon. Small forward Mohammad Jamshidijafarabadi fueled the Iranian offense, averaging 20.4 points per game during the tournament.
Host country Jordan qualified, as well, finishing third in the overall standings. Jordan went 3-2 on the tournament, defeating Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, and falling to Lebanon and Iran. The Jordanians were paced by point guard Mah’d N.J. Abdeen, who averaged 19.8 points and 4 assists in his country’s qualifying campaign.
Iraq qualified by finishing fourth in the tournament at 2-3. The Iraqis were able to take down Syria and Palestine, but fell to Iran, Jordan, and Lebanon. American-born, and naturalized Iraqi forward, Kevin Galloway averaged 22 points and grabbed 7 rebounds per game. Galloway, who grew up in California, once played for four college teams in four years, including University of Southern California and University of Kentucky. Meanwhile, center Mohammed Al-Khafaji contributed 11 points and 6.4 rebounds to the Iraqi qualification effort.
Syria booked the last ticket to Beirut, finishing fourth in the tournament. The Syrians defeated Palestine to secure a spot in FIBA Asia’s flagship event in August, and were led in the tournament by Michael Madanly, who averaged 15 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Though Palestine went 0-5 and finished last in the tournament, former University of Minnesota small forward Jamal Abushamala looked very impressive, averaging 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds over the tournament.
The other Arab country to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup is Qatar, who defeated Saudi Arabia 66-61 in a tie-breaker to win their fourth consecutive Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) basketball championship held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates in September.
With the FIBA Asia Cup heading to Lebanon this summer, it will be the first time an Arab nation has hosted the event since the tournament was held in Doha, Qatar in 2005. An Arab country has never won the prestigious event, but this summer, these five nations will have another chance to make history.
