MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - We are exactly one week away from seeing the best and brightest basketball stars in Asia assemble and compete in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China. Without a doubt, excitement is building up to fever pitch level, and hoop nuts all over cannot wait for hostilities to begin.

All 16 teams have now submitted their finalised rosters for the competition, and, in this week's column, I will take a look at the confirmed line-ups of five countries tagged as championship contenders: Iran, China, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei and Korea.

Iran: Sajjad Mashayekhi, Farid Aslani, Behnam Yakhchali, Mahdi Kamrani, Saeid Davarpanah, Mohammad Hassanzadeh, Hamed Afagh, Oshin Sahakian, Asghar Kardoust, Mohammad Jamshidi, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Hamed Haddadi.

The defending champions have retooled a little bit, bringing in a few young guys in place of tried-and-tested veterans. It looks like Iran is thinking long-term here, with former youth team stalwarts Sajjad Mashayekhi and Behnam Yakhchali playing back-up roles to bona fide stars like Mahdi Kamrani and Hamed Afagh. Despite that, however, this roster is airtight. With guys like Hamed Haddadi and Asghar Kardoust, head coach Dirk Bauermann certainly has great size, while the three-headed monster of Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Afagh and Kamrani should wreak havoc out on the perimeter. Oh, and let's not forget Oshin Sahakian, who was named to the All-Star Five at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila. Iran will bring a versatile bunch to Changsha and they are built to do just one thing - defend the crown.

China: Zhao Jiwei, Liu Wei, Guo Ailun, Zhao Tailong, Ding Yanyuhang, Zhai Xiaochuan, Zhou Peng, Yi Jianlian, Li Gen, Li Muhao, Wang Zhelin, Zhou Qi.

What should jump out at any basketball fan after going through the names on this roster is this: they have not one, not two, not even three, but four legitimate seven-footers on this team. The implication? China look to have been specifically designed to counter Iran's size and, more to the point, neutralise Haddadi. That is, of course, assuming China go far enough in the tournament to meet the Iranians, who are on the other side of the bracket. Against most other teams, China should remain overwhelming favourites. Aside from superior size, the home team boasts versatility at the wings, what with guys like Zhao Tailong, Zhou Peng, and Zhai Xiaochuan expected to do well. Perhaps the only weakness here is at the point guard position, where Zhao Jiwei wants for experience, while Liu Wei may have had too much already. Guo Ailun is an intriguing option, but his inconsistency will be a concern.

Philippines: Calvin Abueva, Andray Blatche, Ranidel De Ocampo, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Dondon Hontiveros, JC Intal, Gabe Norwood, Marc Pingris, Terrence Romeo, Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss, Jayson Castro.

Wow. It will be Andray Blatche's first time playing in the FIBA Asia Championship and it's reasonable to expect that a lot of opposing frontliners will find it very difficult to stop him. Several new faces will also make their debuts, with Calvin Abueva, Terrence Romeo, and JC Intal all making contributions in the Filipinos' recent conquest. Abueva's motor is legendary in the Philippines pro circuit, while Romeo has wowed fans all over with his magical handles and daring drives. Veterans like Asi Taulava, Dondon Hontiveros and Sonny Thoss aren't expected to dominate proceedings (they have an average age of 38 years old), but their leadership and composure will be critical.

Chinese Taipei: Tien Lei, Liu Cheng, Chen Shih-Chieh, Chen Shin-Nian, Lu Cheng-Ju, Tsai Wen-Cheng, Quincy Davis, Hung Chih-Shan, Lin Chih-Chieh, Wu Tai-Hao, Chen Shun-Hsiang, Tseng Wen-Ting.

They chose to rest their top two natural-born players - Lin Chih-Chieh and Tseng Wen-Ting - for the 2015 MVP Cup in Manila, where they finished winless after three matches. Both, however, should be relatively fresh once the FIBA Asia Championship begins. Size will probably be an issue for this team, as nobody stands a shade above 2.08m tall. Head coach Chou Jun-San, however, plans to counterbalance that with the team's outside shooting, where guys like Tien Lei, Hung Chih-Shan, and Lu Cheng-Ju are expected to really show what they're worth. One guy to watch out for is former SBL MVP Liu Cheng who really looks primed and confident in his first tournament at the senior level with the team. Things will be tough for them in the Group of Death, though, especially with Lebanon, Qatar, and Kazakhstan having retooled their rosters, but I still think Chinese Taipei have a very good chance of advancing.

Korea: Yang Dong-Geun, Park Chan-Hee, Kim Tae-Sul, Cho Sung-Min, Lee Jung-Hyun, Moon Seong-Gon, Choi Jun-Yong, Moon Tae-Young, Lee Seung-Hyun, Kim Jong-Kyu, Kang Sang-Jae, Lee Jong-Hyun.

Injuries and controversy have rocked the Korean team, which, about two weeks ago, were already supposed to have their final 12-player roster set. Perhaps the two biggest losses are Ha Seung-Jin and Kim Sun-Hyung. Ha, of course, is a behemoth in the paint, though his footwork and finishing leave a lot to be desired. Kim, meanwhile, is one of Korea's top scoring guards and was being groomed to take over current point guard Yang Dong-Geun's role. Replacing them are a slew of college student-athletes, led by Lee Jong-Hyun, the promising young center who led all players in blocked shots at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Yang, Moon Tae-Young, and Kim Jong-Kyu are all expected to do the heavy lifting in Changsha and they will be heavily pressured to contend for a title and the continent's lone outright slot in next year's Olympics.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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