Mizo Amin determined for Qatar to do much better at Asian Qualifiers

DOHA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Mizo Amin is determined to help Qatar bounce back from a poor showing at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 with a better display at the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.

A couple of months ago, at Asia's flagship event in Beirut, Qatar were at their worst as they put up what was easily their worst showing in the competition since a 16th-place finish in 1991.

"It was a poor performance," said Mizo Amin, who is officially known as Hassan Mohamed. "Many players got injured before and during the tournament, including myself. I suffered a tear in the knee meniscus, but I still played despite the injury. Our naturalized player Sammy Monroe was not able to participate due to an injury as well."

Not surprisingly, Mizo was not pleased and he feels very strongly that they should redeem themselves at the Asian Qualifiers.

"In all honesty, I am not satisfied with our performance," he confessed. "We should definitely do so much better at practice and in the next regional games."

Aside from injury concerns, though, the 1.91m shooting guard mentioned how Al Annabi need better chemistry to compete at a higher level and bounce back strong.

"Basketball is a collective game and while I believe each player should try to shine individually at some point of the game, I also believe it is very important to play as a team and to trust each other more."

Mizo first played for the national team as a 19-year-old upstart in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2010, helping Qatar to a top 3 finish. He has been a staple of the national team ever since. Having become one of the squad's seasoned veterans, he knows his role has become different should he be called up this coming November.

"If I am healthy and in shape, I will definitely be ready to start at the SG (shooting guard) position," he said. "I need to improve my stamina and fastbreak offense so I can help out my teammates who alternate with me, especially guards like Abdulrahman Saad and Mansour El-Hadari."

Mizo is aware that sacrifices need to be made for Qatar to get back on track and return to the upper tiers of Asian basketball. Their club league will need to take a break to make room for their best players to represent Al Annabi in November, but he knows that this will be worth it because they have a good shot at notching at least one victory, especially when they host Kazakhstan on 24 November.

"There is a good chance Qatar will defeat Kazakhstan here at home if our team plays as planned," he said. "We have played against them in the past, and we know our ways around them."

Against the mighty Iranians, however, Mizo was more realistic as they will play on the road against one of the best teams in the continent.

"As for Iran, while I think they are tough opponents, we know we must compete and bring our A-game against them," he shared.

Qatar are in Group D of the Asian Qualifiers together with Kazakhstan, Iran and Iraq. Their first game against Kazakhstan will be played at the Al Gharafa Sports Club on November 24 before they fly out to face Iran at the Azady Gym in Tehran on November 27.

FIBA