AMMAN (Jordan) - Over the past months, several FIBA Asia Cup legends were asked to name their All-Time Asia Cup Starting Five. Then, in this past month, those fantasy rosters were bracketed against each other in a format that left it up to the fans to determine who they thought would be the best of the batch.

“I think social media is really important now for all the players. Now, I feel that me and the fans are one family through social media and it's always a part of my day.”

 The last two teams standing after a series of intense and tightly contested voting match-ups were Team Abdeen and Team Daghlas, both from Jordan. The "Final" went down to the wire yet again, with Team Abdeen prevailing over Team Daghlas with 59 percent to 41 percent of the fan votes on Instagram Stories.

This was once again proof of how devoted and dedicated the Jordan basketball fans are to their stars, whether it was both Mahmoud Abdeen or Sam Daghlas. In this round of popularity votes, however, Abdeen took a close victory.

"It's a gift from god [to have their support] and I'll really have mutual feelings with them," Abdeen said. "I want to thank them a lot for their support, all the Jordanian fans, especially the Wehdat fans. They are amazing."

The winning squad was a selection from some of Asia Cup's best ever, hand-picked by Abdeen. The players selected were Hamed Haddadi (IRI), Yi Jianlian (CHN), Fadi El Khatib (LBN), Jimmy Alapag (PHI), and Enver Soobzokov (JOR).

Abdeen made his selection during a chat with FIBA Asia Cup on Instagram a few months back and was happy to explain each pick once again in detail as the victors of the social media tournament.

"I like to have a seven-footer like him on my team," Abdeen said of Haddadi. "Hamed, he's dominant under the basket in Asia and that's why he's been the best Center in Asia for four times. The most important thing is that he's a good passer and my team has great shooters."

For the spot next to Haddadi in the paint, Abdeen picked Yi Jianlian.

"He's a beast he can do everything on the court," he said. "Under the basket and on the three-point line. He can shoot!"

"And you can't skip a player who played in the NBA for 5-6 years."

On the wing, Abdeen picked a familiar face who was seen in nearly every All-Time Asia Cup squad.

"Everyone chose Fadi [el Khatib] on their teams because he's the best scorer in Asia," Abdeen said. "No one can stop him!"

"Only if he plays against me, I can stop him," he added in a light tone.

Abdeen also listed another sharpshooter on the team who is capable of being the team's floor general.

"When you have a team like mine, you need a point guard who can shoot the ball very well and he's one of the best shooters in Asia. it's really hard to help [on defense] when you are guarding him and he's a good leader on and off the court."

Finally, Abdeen went with an under the radar pick, going with fellow countryman and long range gunner Enver Soobzokov.

"When you have a super team and all of them can score, you need a role player who can defend all the players and don't ask for the ball. Enver can make all the open shots. I never saw him miss an open shot. He would open up the court for all the players."

This team edged out Team Daghlas, who was built with a similar set of players with a few slight differences. Sam Daghlas' squad also featured Haddadi, Alapag, and El Khatib, but had Zaid Abbas and Samad Nikkah Bahrami for the last two spots.

Nonetheless, Abdeen is confident about his team and his selections.

"I think Sam and I almost chose the same team for three out of five players," he said. "I think I can't lose with this team."

For the purpose of this event, most of the legends making the selections were slotted as the coaches of their teams. In some cases like Daghlas or Alapag, their promising coaching careers have already begun. For some like Abdeen who are still playing in their primes, that's something to think about way down the road.

But it's something that's definitely on the head of "coach" Abdeen.

"Yes, sure! I'll coach when am done," he said. "I can't live without basketball. It's my life!"

This social media event was yet another initiative that connected the players with the fans, allowing them to engage with one another. Social media has been an important part of the basketball community in the past months with the current situation that put most of basketball on pause.

Abdeen has been one of the those players that has stayed connected with his fans through these outlets, allowing basketball to continue being a part of everyone's lives despite the tough times.

"Social media is the one of the few channels to communicate with the fans," he said. "I think social media is really important now for all the players. Now, I feel that me and the fans are one family through social media and it's always a part of my day."

FIBA