ASTANA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Do not be surprised if Kazakhstan spring a couple of surprises when the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers begin in November.

The Kazakhs seem poised to have an upturn in their fortunes after their impressive showing at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017, where they finished on the podium for the first time in history. This was an excellent way to bounce back for the country after their dismal showing at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017, losing all three of their games.

One may argue that Kazakhstan's success at the Champions Cup was buoyed by the strong performances of their foreign players, Justin Carter and Anthony Clemmons, but doing so would fail to recognize the important contributions of guys like Dmitriy Gavrilov, Rustam Yargaliev, Alexandr Zhigulin and Anatoliy Kolesnikov among others.

Gavrilov and Kolesnikov were on the Kazakhstan squad that played at the Asia Cup, but their presence certainly would have helped the national team. That will not be the case for coach Eduard Skrypets in November, where both Gavrilov and Kolesnikov are expected to be with the national side as they take on Group D rivals Qatar and Iraq.

Kazakhstan should be slight favorites against either team, and perhaps if all their marquee players will be healthy and available, then the Snow Leopards may yet be among the early leaders of the Asian Qualifiers. Of course, much of that also depends on how Gavrilov, Yargaliev, Zhigulin and Kolesnikov will be able to lead and carry the team, but if their Champions Cup performance is any indication, then the Kazakhs may have a few more surprises up their sleeves.

FIBA