BEIRUT (Lebanon) - It’s the second month of 2022 and the second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers is here. Excitement is in the air, especially in anticipation to see these 9 players in action.

Zaid Abbas (Jordan)

Zaid Abbas is back! After previously stating that he retired from playing with the national team, the 38-year-old power forward is pulling a Michael Jordan-esque move and coming back into action for Jordan in this upcoming window of the Asian Qualifiers.

The last time Abbas played for Jordan in a major FIBA event was at the World Cup in 2019 where he averaged 6.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Coincidentally, his return is at the World Cup 2023 Qualifiers where he can play a part in getting Jordan qualified for the main event once again.

Will Artino (Chinese Taipei)

Chinese Taipei have been transitioning into a new generation and there have been exciting new players to have stepped up in recent competitions. For the second window of the Asian Qualifiers, it’s highly likely that this could be Will Artino’s time to shine.

Artino is an all-around force that can do a little bit of everything, similar to Japan’s Ryan Rossiter and could very well be assuming that same role for Chinese Taipei. He has the size that Chinese Taipei needs at 2.11M (6’11”), but will also provide long range shooting and playing as he has displayed while playing professionally in the region for the past few years.

Isaiah Murphy (Japan)

Having already qualified as co-hosts of the World Cup, Japan have the privilege of being able to tinker around with their rosters a bit with less pressure that their opponents. That means more opportunity for rising stars as we saw in the previous window with the performances of Yudai Nishida and Ryo Terashima.

It’s possible that this window could the time for Isaiah Murphy to show up and impress. Murphy, or Shinsaku Enomoto, was a refreshing recruitment story for Japan at the U19 World Cup in 2017 where he turned a highlight mixtape into a spot on the youth national team. Now, he’s close to a senior national team debut after playing in the B.League for a couple of seasons. It will be interesting to see how far he’s come.

Yousef Khayat (Lebanon)

There’s certainly a lot of buzz around Lebanon basketball these days with the way they’ve been playing. Stars like Wael Arakji and Ali Haidar have been playing well. The next in line talents like Karim Zeinoun and Sergio El Darwich have had their moments. And the next wave, Yousef Khayat, is already set to crash onto the shores.

Khayat already wowed Asia basketball fans in his debut during Window 1 and now those fans only want to see more in these upcoming two games. It’s clear that Khayat is a key part of Lebanon basketball’s future, and we’re going to get to see him continue to grow in this window.

Robert Bolick (Philippines)

The Philippines are a team with a lot of moving pieces in this window whether it’s the coaching change and some key players, but one that fans should keep an eye on is the return of Robert Bolick.

The 26-year-old guard last played for the Philippines at the World Cup in 2019, and flashed as a bright spot for the Philippines in China. The 1.82M (6’0”) shooter averaged 8.6 points per game  in 14.2 minutes player per game, including 15 points scored against Iran in their last game.

After recovering from a knee injury, Bolick is now back and ready to be a part of a packed backcourt with this Gilas squad. Even though the Philippines have most of their familiar guards and wings in Thirdy Ravena and Dwight Ramos, among other, Bolick should still be a welcome addition.

Tyrese Proctor (Australia)

Proctor won’t turn 18 until April Fool’s Day this year, but he will already be making his second appearance with the Boomers in this second window of the World Cup Qualifiers.

While the fans didn’t get to see much in just 10 minutes of action from Proctor, there’s hope that we will get to see a lot more from the youngster in these upcoming games. Asia basketball have been spoiled with the opportunity to get the first glimpses of young Australian talents like Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels. Could Proctor be the next in line?

Arsalan Kazemi (Iran)

After an opening window of filling up the box score, eyes will be on Arsalan Kazemi to see if he can do it again.

To be honest, it won’t be easy to top a performance of recording a triple-double and averaging 21.5 rebounds per game through the window. However, prior to Window 1, most of us didn’t think we’d see a triple-double of see a player average 21.5 rebounds per game through the window as well.

Surprise us again, Arsalan.

Nassir Abo Jalas (Saudi Arabia)

Saudi Arabia are a team that doesn’t rely entirely on the performance of a single player, and that makes them a bit more fun to watch when everyone is contributing.

If you had to point out to one player that fans might want to keep an eye on particular, it could be Nassir Abo Jalas. The 27-year-old forward is a burly power forward, but is also surprisingly agile as well.

He can score in many different ways, and three-point shooting is one of them. The 1.96M (6’5”) forward has only taken 4 threes so far in the World Cup Qualifiers, but shot 46.7 percent on 15 attempts at the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Abdul Wahab Alhamwi (Syria)

Alhamwi logged only 2.4 minutes in Window 1 for Syria after averaging 23.1 minutes per game for the Qasioun Eagles in the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Syria will need the presence of a big man - and Alhamwi is quite the big man - in this upcoming window especially when they go up against Iran. Already with 2 losses to their record, these two upcoming games will be highly important for Syria and Alhamwi could be key to their success.

FIBA