Taipei (Chinese Taipei) - Sani Sakakini has been all around the world as a professional basketball player. From playing for local Palestinian club Sareyyet Rammalah at the age of 14, he’s ventured to compete in Jordan, China, Lebanon, UAE, and even Venezuela. As the first ever professional player from his country, Sani has done a pretty good job of holding his own and even excelling wherever he goes. His next journey has led him to play with the Yulon Luxgen Dinos in Chinese-Taipei Super Basketball League (SBL).

“It feels great actually trying new leagues and learning around the world. Sharing my experience to help the teams that I join to do something special is always amazing. Taiwan has been very good so far and I am looking forward to win the SBL,” Sani says of his current new stint with the team.

The 30-year-old is having an explosive “rookie” season in the SBL as a beast in the paint for the Dinos. After playing in 22 games so far, Sani leads the league in scoring with 23.6 points per game and is second among active players in rebounding with 13.6 boards per contest. The Foreign MVP award has stiff competition in former NBA players like OJ Mayo, Orlando Johnson, and Tony Mitchell but Asian star Sani Sakakini is standing proud as among the top contenders for the award in the 16^th season of the SBL.

“I practice so hard everyday and try to be the same in every league I play in,” Sani says of his method towards success. “Of course, I thank my team mates and coaches to help me have these big performances here and looking forward for to get better for myself and the team.”

A part of how Sani has been able to dominate in the SBL is his vast amount of previous experiences, specifically in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The 2.04M (6’8”) power forward started off in the second tier Chinese National Basketball League (NBL) before sticking on with the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles in 2011. By the time he played his second season in the CBA with the same team, he had turned into an automatic double-double and would play in three more CBA seasons for Nanjing Monkey King, Tianjin Golden Lions, and Guangzhou Long Lions. It was not only the level of competition but the cultural experience that has helped Sani become an instant impact in the SBL.

“Playing in the CBA has been great help on all sides. A lot of NBA guys wish just to have a chance to play there and I had a 6-year career there, being at the top almost in all of them.  Competing there made the SBL more familiar to me and easier to adjust,” Sakakini says.

The Dinos have one of the most stacked teams in the league. Armed with reigning local MVP, Lu Cheng-Ju, and current assist king, Han Lin Wei, having another stud in Sani almost seems unfair at times. That seemed to be the case when the Dinos rattled off an impressive 5 straight wins in the last two weeks of 2018. Sakakni was unstoppable during the span with 31.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game on a blistering 60.6 percent shooting from the field. The Dinos went into the New Year’s break with a 10-6 record looking like one of the strongest teams in the league.

Since the calendar turned to 2019, the Dinos have been struggling with only 4 wins in the last 15 games and have slid down to 6^th place in the standings. They will still be making the playoffs nonetheless, but would like to gain some momentum heading into the post season with the remaining 5 games of the regular season.

Yulon are a team with a rich history of success in the SBL with 4 titles, second most among all franchise. However, it has been nearly a decade since back in 2009-2010 when they last won it all in the SBL. The closest to winning a title for the Dinos since then has been in the 2017 finals when they lost to the Dacin Tigers. Recent results might not be as promising as earlier in the season, but Sani Sakakini hopes that he can be a force that can bring back the ultimate success to this proud franchise.

“Hopefully I can help the team at first get to the finals and then anything can happen. I’ll try my best to do it this year and I wish it works,” Sakakini says.

Sani is accustomed to being a winner and leading his teams to newer heights. He has won championships in Palestine and Jordan. He led his national team a first ever appearance in the FIBA Asia Championship. He is a trailblazer as the first pro player from Palestine. If there a player that you would want to lead a franchise back to the promised land, Sani Sakakini is one of the best selections out here in Asia.

FIBA