Group D: Lebanon the team to beat among teams with something to prove

BANGKOK (Thailand) - The teams in Group D of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers are going to be out there to prove themselves.

This is the only group without a team that qualified for the World Cup last year and Lebanon are aching to prove that they still belong among Asia’s elite. Iraq scored an upset against Iran at the World Cup Qualifiers, looking for the chance to show that they can do it again. India failed to collect a single victory at the World Cup Qualifiers and are hoping to bounce back. Bahrain have made great strides to improve the team and now they just want to prove they belong.

The roads to redemption for each of these teams just so happen to cross paths here in Group D play. It’s going to be a firecracker of a first window.

Team to beat: Lebanon

Lebanon were thisclose to making it to China and play in the World Cup and the disappointment of being a team watching from afar is painful. Just ask Ater Majok.

 

With all of that behind them now, the Tall Cedars can now focus on trying to run through their Group at the Asia Cup Qualifiers. The competition will be stiff, but Lebanon’s collection of bright young talents makes them arguably the best team in this group.

Proven stars who might possibly play like Wael Arakji and Ali Haidar are expected to lead the way. However, the younger talents from Joseph El Chartouny, Ali Mansour, or Aziz Abdel Massih should also be up for the challenge.

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	IOC	CURRENT POINTS
55.	Lebanon	9.	LBN	176.1
74.	India	13.	IND	120.1
79.	Iraq	15.	IRQ	112.7
113.	Bahrain	24.	BRN	79.4

Key Matchup: Lebanon v Iraq

One of the biggest surprising results in Asia over the past few years is Iraq beating three-time Asia Cup champions in their very first game of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers. That game showcased the capabilities of Iraq and the potential of what they can do.

Iraq are now presented with a similar opportunity here at the Asia Cup Qualifiers, scheduled to play their first game against Lebanon who are considered the top team in this group on 21 February.

The last time Iraq pulled off a major upset, Demario Mayfield put in a spectacular performance with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. They will most likely need a similar output from him as well as contributions from Hassan Abdullah and Ali Ismael to get this one over a strong Lebanon squad.

(Demario Mayfield, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers)

Click here for the full schedule of the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Star: Wael Arakji

You could put Lebanon and Wael Arakji in any other group of the Asia Cup Qualifiers and he’d most likely still come out as one of the best players and brightest stars in that respective group nonetheless.

The 25-year-old guard bounced back from an injury to play the last six games of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers and blossomed. He led the team with 16.3 points and 5.7 assists per game while also corralling 4.2 rebounds per game.

(Wael Arakji, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers)

Arakji has also displayed a gift for making plays in crunch time (check out his highlight reel from FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019). However, Lebanon will be aiming to keep the games far out of reach to make use of Arakji’s clutch-ness whether it will be against Iraq (21 February) or Bahrain (24 February).

Player to Watch: Muzamil Hamoda

These kids grow up right in front of our very own eyes right? Just only a bit over a year ago, Muzamil Hamoda was still only a bright young talent from Bahrain who was oozing potential at the U18 Asian Championship in Thailand. As of October last year, Hamoda was still only dreaming about the chance of playing with the senior national team at the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

“[Getting to play at the Qualifiers] will be feeling I can’t describe, of course, but I’m waiting for this opportunity to showcase my skills and abilities,” Hamoda said.

Now, he’s about to be one of the youngest players among all teams in the Asia Cup Qualifiers and will suit up for Bahrain in this first window.

(Muzamil Hamoda, FIBA U18 GBA Qualifiers 2020)

Hamoda will be playing alongside his big brother and local idol, Mohammad, but the 18-year-old seems to be capable of taking care of himself o the court. The lanky 1.98M (6’6”) swingman has starred in recent youth competitions and has even logged some quality minutes during exhibition games in Jordan, making him an interesting prospect to look at in this group.

Another idol of the youngster is the retired Lebanon star Fadi El Khatib. Hamoda might get a chance to shine and catch El Khatib’s eye when Bahrain faces Lebanon on 24 February.

Familiar Face: Visheh Bhriguvanshi

It’s been a long time since Asian basketball fans have seen Vishesh Bhriguvanshi in action, so they should be excited to see him back in uniform for the Qualifiers.

(Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, FIBA Asia Cup 2017)

A nagging injury kept Bhriguvanshi out of the entire World Cup Qualifiers and even his last appearance at Asia Cup 2017 was limited to only 16 minutes of play. Now that he’s back in the line up, India should be able to raise their expectations a bit.

Bhriguvanshi has five Asia Cup appearances, boasting an impressive scoring average of 12.3 points per game. Bearded Bhriguvanshi is one of the most recognizable stars of India and his return bodes well for India’s chances in their first window games against Bahrain (21 February) and Iraq (24 February).

FIBA