Group C Preview: Untangling the three-way tie

JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) & AMMAN (Jordan) - We've got ourselves tangled up a bit here in Group C with three teams owning a 2-1 record. However, only 2 teams - or even 1 - will be able to make it 3-1 and take their seat at the top of the standings in this tightly contested group.

February 27, 2022

Saudi Arabia vs Lebanon
19:15 (GMT +3)
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Jordan vs Indonesia
19:00 PM (GMT +3)
Prince Hamza, Amman, Jordan

Quoted: Ahmad Al Dwairi (JOR)

"You see, whoever gets inside the court, they play from the heart."

Statement Game

The tension at the game between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon should be tight.

Lebanon are traveling from Jordan after a highly frustrating loss to play against a physical and fast Saudi Arabia team that will be playing in front of their noisy crowd. The situation is not ideal for Lebanon, especially concerning how out of sorts they looked playing frustrated against Jordan.

Sergio El Darwich, however, might have summarized what happened best which should allow them to realize what they need to do.

"It wasn’t our day," El Darwich said. "We made some silly turnovers, we missed shots, they had a lot of offensive rebounds. So we just work on that and try to bounce back against Saudi Arabia on Sunday."

Remember, despite the loss, Lebanon are still one of the best offensive teams in the Asia.

But Saudi Arabia are a good defensive team as well. Anchored in the paint with Mohammed Alsuwailem and surrounded by defensive-minded guards in Fahad Belal and Khalid Abdel Gabar, Saudi Arabia are a tough team to score against. Moreover, they've shown much improvement in the recent years in terms of moving the ball with extra passes and making quick direction.

Saudi Arabia have already taken down Jordan in Jeddah and played in two very close games against Iran at the Asia Cup Qualifiers.  Could Lebanon be the next Asia basketball giant to be rattled by "The Mean Green Machine"?

Now or never (but not really)

Jordan are glowing after a win over Lebanon. Now with a second straight game at home, they just have to stay as far away from being complacent as much as possible when going up against the winless Indonesia.

For Indonesia, it's now or (at least somewhat close to) never, in the Asian Qualifiers. If they lose to Jordan in the upcoming game, it will be their fourth straight loss, making it highly difficult to turn things around and qualify for the second round - let alone the World Cup at this moment. They would still have the chance to qualify by making it to the Quarter-Finals of the upcoming Asia Cup, but it would be nice to keep their options open.

Nonetheless, losing four straight games in the World Cup Qualifiers isn't the end of the world. Just ask Japan, who also started the 2019 cycle with 4 straight defeats before going off for 8 straight wins to not only make it pass the first round but qualify for the World Cup.

Still, the main goal here is to put an end to this losing streak now. Jordan are a really, really good team which means that Indonesia will have to play really, really, really good basketball.

Key Match Up: Mohammed Alsuwailem (KSA) vs Ater Majok (LBN)

It's the clash of the Swat machines! Mohammed Alsuwailem has the most amount of total blocks in the Asia Qualifiers with 8 rejections in total. Ater Majok is just right behind him at 7.

These two were also at the top of this category for the Asia Cup Qualifiers, so the other players on both teams should be very well aware of taking tough shots.

Majok might be a bit more agile and quick on his feet compared to Alsuwailem, which gives him the advantage in transition. However, Alsuwailem is a player that is tough to budge when he gets into position.

Who will control the paint in this upcoming game?

Star: Zaid Abbas (JOR)

Everyone knows what Zaid Abbas can do, and it should be easier to limit his production at this point in time, right?

Not really. Abbas was one of Jordan's best players in the win over Lebanon boasting a line of 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Whenever he was on the court (which was a lot) he was always doing something positive, whether it was just cutting to the basket or making the extra pass.

Jordan might be able to give Abbas a bit more rest against Indonesia, but you can be sure that he'll have an impact whenever he is in.

Player to Watch: Lester Prosper (INA)

Prosper made his first World Cup Qualifiers appearance against Saudi Arabia and had an output of 18 points and 5 rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Of course, it was also tough to play against a physical team like Saudi Arabia, which is why he picked up 4 fouls.

Nonetheless, Indonesia is going to need more from their main big man for the next game, especially as they are going up against Jordan who is expected to have Ahmad Al Dwairi manning the post.

Prosper is capable of posting up monster numbers (see Asia Cup Qualifiers for reference) and he'll need to get things going for Indonesia to have a chance against Jordan.

FIBA