BANGKOK (FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017) - Jason Brickman will probably be the strangest foreign player in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017, but that will not stop him from being among the most productive.

While most teams will parade foreign players from Europe or the USA, Mono Vampire will have Brickman, who is actually of Philippine descent. In addition, Mono Vampire's choice of Brickman also goes against the grain as he - unlike most other foreign players - is not a big man by any stretch of the imagination. Brickman is officially listed as 1.83m and will be the shortest foreign player in the entire tournament.

Still, that doesn't mean that the Texas-born Filipino-American won't make a splash. On the contrary, Brickman brings with him one of the most decorated basketball resumes of anybody participating at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. Who else, after all, can boast of being a two-time assists leader in the US NCAA (2013 and 2014) and having the fourth-highest assists total in US NCAA history? Add to that Brickman's feats in the ASEAN Basketball League, where he was named Finals MVP in 2016 after leading Westports Malaysia Dragons to the ABL crown.

The passing wizard's jam-packed list of achievements, however, does not necessarily mean he will be a dominant force in the Champions Cup. As part of the Mono Vampire club, Brickman will be hard-pressed to find players who can score at will at this level of competition. Fellow foreign player Mike Singletary is probably the team's best scoring option while national team standouts Teerawat Chanthachon, Kannut Samerjai and Ratdech Kruatiwa can also put the ball in the bucket in spurts.

The diminutive Brickman will also have to contend with other top-flight playmakers like Rustam Murzagaliev, Sajjad Mashayekhi and Kiefer Ravena to name a few. Needless to say, this will probably the most competitive atmosphere in which he will play since his US NCAA days, and it will be interesting to see if he will be up to the challenge of spearheading the Thais as they hope to advance past the group phase.

Brickman and the rest of Mono Vampire were drawn into Group A together with Kazakhstan's BC Astana, Iran's Petrochimi, Palestine's Sareyyet Ramallah and Chooks To Go from the Philippines. Defending champions China Kashgar are in Group B together with squads from the United Arab Emirates, India, Lebanon and Chinese Taipei. The top four teams in each group will move on to the knockout Quarter-Finals, where the victors will advance to the Semi-Finals. The winners in the Semi-Finals will dispute the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017 crown in the Final.

FIBA