MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - In a continent where star big men are not the norm, Asian national teams have to heavily rely on their guards for success, and the following were the best in 2017.

This list is compiled based on production and not potential. It is not meant to detail the best players on paper or in theory. Instead, the basis of the following lists are empirical. They are chosen based on actual on-court performance. Naturally, this means that for a player to be considered, he had to have played in at least one of the following competitions: the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers first window, which basically means don't look for Matthew Dellavedova or Dante Exum here.

After listing the top five for each guard position, I also included a shortlist of three players who nearly made it to the top five. These are the players who are "outside looking in." They're not in the top five, but we should still watch out for them next year.

This is the first of three parts, and the next two will focus on the top forwards and centers, respectively.

So without further adieu, here are the top 5 point guards and top 5 shooting guards in Asia for 2017.

Point Guards
Wael Arakji (Lebanon)

Stats per game - 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.0 steals.
Arakji has really come into his own for Lebanon, taking the reins of the national team at the young age of 23 and serving notice that he is, indeed, the new face of the Cedars. He scored in double-digits in all but one of his games this year for Lebanon, and was an all-around stat-stuffer by grabbing rebounds, handing out assists and getting steals. He could be the best point guard in Asia for years to come.

Shea Ili (New Zealand)

Stats per game - 14.4 points, 5.6 assists, 1.1 steals.
The 1.83m Ili was expected to take a step back with the return of both Tai and Corey Webster to the Tall Blacks after they missed the Asia Cup, but there was really no drop off in the 25-year-old's production in the Asian Qualifiers. He had a solid outing in their loss to Korea and was absolutely splendid in their easy victory over Hong Kong. He can contribute to New Zealand in so many ways, and we stand to see more of that in the remaining windows of the Asian Qualifiers.

Kim SunHyung (Korea)

Stats per game - 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.3 steals.
Kim was generally brilliant for Korea in the Asia Cup, leading them to big triumphs over the likes of Lebanon, Japan, Philippines and twice over New Zealand. An injury prevented him from playing at the Asian Qualifiers, where the Koreans would have loved to have him at point guard, especially against China, but he should be available again in the second window come February 2018. Kim's sheer speed makes him a match for the fastest in the continent, including the next one on this list.

Jayson Castro (Philippines)

Stats per game - 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists.
Castro blew hot and cold in the Asia Cup as he split time at the point with Terrence Romeo, but he flashed vintage form in the Asian Qualifiers, where he toasted both Japan and Chinese Taipei. Despite already being 31, the soft-spoken native of Pampanga can still run with the best guards in Asia, whether it's by bobbing and weaving through defenses for those lay-ups or pulling up beyond the arc for a three-point splash. Sure, Castro may be among the elder statesmen in Gilas Pilipinas, but that doesn't necessarily mean his production will dip as the Qualifiers wear on.

Tai Webster (New Zealand)

Stats per game - 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.0 steal.
It's a luxury for New Zealand to have two of the five best point guards in the continent on their roster. Whereas Ili is the steady scorer who can torch opponents with his shooting, Webster is the versatile playmaker who looks to involve his teammates as much as possible. He finished second overall in assists per game during the first window of the Asian Qualifiers, and his size coupled with his uncanny vision make him a true primary threat at the point guard position. Once he gets his scoring going, there may be no stopping the 22-year-old from dominating in Asia.

Outside looking in:
Guo Ailun (China)
Terrence Romeo (Philippines)
Fang Shuo (China)

Shooting Guards
Sun Minghui (China)

Stats per game - 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals.
Sun was not exactly headline material prior to the Asian Qualifiers, but boy did he change that quickly. The 21-year-old is considered among China's brightest prospects at the shooting guard position, and he proved exactly why in their two wins in the first window against lowly Hong Kong and mighty Korea. The 1.87m Sun was especially impressive against regional rivals Korea in their second game, scoring 21 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting on top of 4 assists and 3 rebounds. He helped shut down Korean shooter Jeon JunBeom while also helping spread the floor for coach Li Nan with his crisp outside shooting. He's a bona fide star-in-the-making for Team Dragon.

Mitch Creek (Australia)

Stats per game - 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals.
Creek was unstoppable in the Asia Cup, where Australia romped their way to the title, and he remained solid for the Boomers in their two wins during the first window of the Asian Qualifiers. At 1.97m, Creek is just physically bigger than most shooting guards against whom he is pitted, and he uses that along with his impressive athleticism to the hilt. When he bodies up against smaller wingmen, he can easily score, and out in transition, there is just no slowing him down.

Corey Webster (New Zealand)

Stats per game - 14.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 three-pointers.
Corey's stats won't make you jump off your seat, but remember that he played limited minutes for the Tall Blacks and still put up excellent numbers. He couldn't carry the team to a win over Korea in their first meeting, but he still gave a good account of himself with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 triples. He was on cruise control against Hong Kong in their second fixture, tossing in an easy dozen in only 13 minutes of play. Corey plays so well that he makes basketball look quite simple.

Dar Tucker (Jordan)

Stats per game - 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 2.5 three-pointers.
It seems like Jordan's potency exponentially increases when Tucker plays, and we saw that in the first Asian Qualifiers window as they swept West Asia rivals Syria and Lebanon. The 29-year-old naturalized guard is just so difficult to contain when he gets a full head of steam and barrels through defenders. He has great upper body strength to be able to finish at the rim even against much bigger foes, and he has the speed and skill to get by smaller opponents. He can also heat up pretty fast like a microwave oven, and when he is on a hot streak, he can single-handedly push Al Nashama to a W. That's what we saw when he dropped 32 big ones on the Cedars on the back of 10-of-15 field goal shooting.

Tarek Al-Jabi (Syria)

Stats per game - Stats per game - 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 steals.
Perhaps the most surprising name on this list is the player who turned a lot of heads at the Asia Cup with his offensive versatility. Like China's Sun Minghui, Al-Jabi burst onto the scene quite unexpectedly, scoring 25 points in their first Asia Cup game against Jordan and then proceeding to score double-figures in every game thereafter, including the ones in the Asian Qualifiers. The 27-year-old has even scored more than his fabled teammate Micheal Madanly, and that is no mean feat. If he continues to be productive, then we may be looking at one of the most explosive scorers in West Asia.

Ourside looking in:
Mitch McCarron (Australia)
Makoto Hiejima (Japan)
Micheal Madanly (Syria)

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.