DAMASCUS (Syria) - There aren’t many players as tall as Syria’s Abdulwahab Alhamwi in Asia. At a towering height of 2.20M (7ft 3in), Alhamwi was a disruptive force around the rim in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers and led all players with 24 blocks.

Even though Syria failed in advancing to the World Cup with a 2-10 record, Alhamwi has been a bright spot for the team’s future with his development.

“I got great experience playing with the level of teams and players [at the Asian Qualifiers], especially the games outside of my country,” Alhamwi says.

The 28-year-old has posted some big games. Against India he recorded 19 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks. Possibly even more impressively was his all-around output against a strong New Zealand squad to the line of 10 points, 8 boards, 5 dimes and 2 blocks. Over the entire Asian Qualifiers process, Alhamwi averaged 9.8 points and 7.8 rebounds and is widely considered as one of the most improved players in the region.

“For sure, this will push me to work harder to be the best,” Alhamwi proudly says. “Especially since I lost four years when the war started in Syria.”

The war-torn situation of Syria kept them out of consistent competition since their 10^th place run at the FIBA Asia Cup 2011. At 21 years old during that time, Alhamwi oozed of potential and averaged 7.3 points and 5.0 boards per contest in 7 games. It took 6 years for Syria and Alhamwi to get back to the FIBA Asia Cup in 2017, where they once again finished at 10^th.

Despite all that the nation has gone through, their love for basketball remains strong and is once again on the rise as the situation starts to settle down.

“Basketball in Syria never stopped during the way but lost a lot of players going outside Syria and a lot of supporters,” Alhamwi explains. “But now it is coming back. There are so many fans at the games playing in all cities.”

Failing to qualify for the World Cup has not dampened the hopes towards the future for Alhamwi. The 7-footer aims to become a professional player outside of the country like teammate Michael Madanly who is well-traveled all over Asia. To reach that goal, the towering center must continue to showcase his progress especially at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers which starts at the end of this year. Alhamwi has faith that the team will be put in the right position to succeed when the time comes.

“I think and I know that our federation will have a good strategy for the next FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers,” Alhamwi says. He mentions that the team is expected to get even younger when the Asia Cup Qualifiers commence and that players will be pushed to get even more experience in the process.

At the centerpiece of Syria’s uprising in the Asian basketball scene will be Abdulwahab Alhamwi. After falling behind in progress by 4 years, the big man is determined to keep on improving in order to become one of the best centers in Asia and lead Syria to success.