MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - When Syria begin their FIBA Asia Cup 2017 campaign, they will play for more than just wins and trophies.

Syria are returning to the foremost basketball tournament in Asia for the first time since 2011, when they just missed the Quarter-Finals and eventually finished 9th out of 16 teams. Syria were a promising unit in that competition, winning half of their games despite not having star player Micheal Madanly.

The West Asia quintet relied on the likes of Samir Daks, Ioanis Deeb and naturalized player Eder Gorges in that joust, but they will have to make do with a younger core when they jump into the action in Beirut this coming August. From that 2011 squad, only Deeb, Wael Jlilaty and Muhia Kasaballi have been called up for the current national pool.

At least this time, however, Madanly will be in tow. The 1.92m wingman will serve as the team's leader and the team's mentor to their less seasoned talents. Madanly, in fact, was the only player on Syria's WABA Championship 2017 roster who was born earlier than 1989. That made him, quite literally, a living legend, and he lived up to the billing, averaging 15 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.8 triples per game in the sub-zone qualifying tournament.

Once in Beirut, Madanly will have to lead by example, especially for promising up-and-comers like Hani Adribi, Magd Harbasha and Omar Cheikh Ali. Syria are grouped with three-time champions Iran, perennial contenders Jordan and SABA kings India, and the Syrians will be hard-pressed to notch a win or two against their more experienced opponents.

Even if Syria don't win any games, though, just being at this level and playing at the FIBA Asia Cup already represents something more than triumph or success. It represents hope - hope for a nation that has been struggling mightily these past handful of years.

Sport has long been a catalyst for resiliency among individuals, teams and even countries, and I feel Syria's playing at the FIBA Asia Cup will resonate with their countrymen at home on so many levels.

We already saw a glimpse of this at the WABA Championship earlier this year, where a good number of Syrian fans trooped to Amman, Jordan to cheer their heroes on. For Madanly, this did not go unnoticed, even acknowledging them after Syria beat Palestine, 86-70, and clinched their spot at the FIBA Asia Cup.

Cheikh Ali was brilliant in the win, putting up 17 points and 19 rebounds, while Harbasha had 16 points of his own. The star, of course, was Madanly, who tossed in 21 points on top of 11 assists. Once again, the 36-year-old grizzled veteran carried his team to a huge result.

In August, Madanly knows that though they will be playing in Beirut and neither in Damascus nor his hometown of Aleppo, Syrians will be one with the national team in spirit, hoping for the best but also enjoying just seeing their flag raised again alongside many of the best Asian basketball teams. Sure, if their recent performance at the WABA Championship 2017 is anything to go on, perhaps the Syrians may be overmatched in some contests and may find themselves with more losses than victories, but, again, Syria are playing for way more than notches on the win column.

They are playing for pride, playing for hope and playing to show that they belong with the best Asia has to offer.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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