MANAMA (Bahrain) - There’s going to be a great extent of action unfolding in the upcoming days of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers in Groups C, D, and F. In order to keep their Asia Cup hopes alive, the teams have assembled some intriguing players to get them to the promised land.

Here are some players to watch for in the upcoming games of the Asia Cup Qualifiers!

Taine Murray (NZL)

18-year-old Murray has already made his debut with the Tall Blacks in the previous window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers. It was a brief debut in which he played only 4 minutes, but that should be valuable experience for the youngster.

Murray has a bright future ahead of him (especially after committing to the University of Virginia late last year) and it will be fun to see how much potential he can flash in New Zealand’s upcoming game.

Matt Kenyon (AUS)

It’s going to be a “Baby Boomers” squad for Australia in their upcoming game with only one player born before 2000 listed. That player would be Matt Kenyon who will assume as the big brother to lead the team.

Not only does Kenyon have the seniority in terms of age on the team, he also brings much experience to the table as well. Aside from playing in Australia’s NBL from 2016 to 2018 with the Brisbane Bullets, the 22-year-old also spent a large part of last season with the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G-League.

There will be a lot of fresh faces to watch in these upcoming days and Kenyon is one of them.

Kyndall Dykes (PLE)

Palestine have their eyes set on making it back to the Asia Cup for the first time since 2013. Even though they already have superstar Sani Sakakini, they’ve added just a little more firepower to help sweeten their odds.

Dykes is a proven veteran that has played around the world. He’ll now be playing for Palestine for the first time, providing them with some much needed firepower in the backcourt. Dykes already has some experience playing in Bahrain, so expect him to get comfortable real quickly.

Pawan Samira Milidduwa Gamage (SRI)

Sri Lanka have their backs against the walls with an 0-2 record in Group F. They’ll need anything they can get and Gamage brings that to the table for his team.

The 24-year-old was Sri Lanka’s go-to guy in their previous games, ranking among the top 3 on his team in points (11.0), rebounds (3.5), and assists (2.5) per game. Sri Lanka will need that to keep going and maybe even intensify a bit.

Alexandr Zhigulin (KAZ)

Zhigulin is one of Kazakhstan’s finest stars, but didn’t shine as bright as expected back in Window 1.

Much more will be expected out of the 26-year-old who has recently been plying his trade in Russia. Zhigulin has an intriguing combination of size and the ability to shoot from outside, which will come in handy as Kazakhstan hopes to add on to their 1-1 record and seal Asia Cup qualification.

Sergio El Darwich (LBN)

Instead writing a couple of sentences explaining why you should keep an eye out for what El Darwich will do on the court, we’re just going to guide you to his highlight dunk from the previous Manama bubble.

You can also check out his lengthy profile from recent interview he did with @FIBAAsiaCUp on Instagram Live.

Mohamed Kawaid (BRN)

It was fun to see Kawaid back in action for Bahrain in the past window and see that he hasn’t lost much of a step from his pre-injury form. Now with even more time to adjust and rest heading into this final window, fans should be able to expect to see more from the 31-year-old do-it-all forward.

Bahrain’s game against Lebanon will be a nice game to see just how well Kawaid matches up with some of the top forwards in Asia.

Rajeev Kumar (IND)

India is all about the youth movement at the moment. One of their most promising young guns is Rajeev Kumar, who starred at the FIBA U18 Asian Championship back in 2018 when he exploded for 40 points against Korea.

That additional scoring should be welcome for India as they are set to battle for the third and final spot in the standings of Group D with Iraq.

Kevin Galloway (IRQ)

The stakes are high for Iraq in these upcoming games - their Asia Cup hopes and dreams are on the line - and they will have Kevin Galloway to help them improve their chances of winning both games.

Galloway played for Iraq at Asia Cup 2017 and averaged 15.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. He might have to put up similar number, or even more, to give Iraq a chance to return to the Asia Cup once again.

FIBA