9 Ying-chun Chen (TPE)
13/07/2018
Enzo Flojo's Asia On My Mind
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What is next for Chinese Taipei, India, Hong Kong and Iraq?

MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - At the close of the third Asian Qualifiers window, four teams didn't make it to the second round, so what's in store for them now?

Remember that by being eliminated from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, these four sides - Chinese Taipei, India, Hong Kong and Iraq - will now put all their focus on the Qualifiers for the continent's biggest prize - the FIBA Asia Cup 2021, which will begin in November 2019. That's more than a year for these teams to go into some sort of basketball soul-searching and, hopefully, improve their programs with the goal of being more competitive in the run-up to FIBA Asia Cup 2021.

Let's see.

CHINESE TAIPEI
The Taipei quintet had the inside track to making it to the second round with a big win over Japan in the second window, but two losses at home - one to the Philippines and another to the Japanese - doomed their chances.

Chinese Taipei had great performers throughout the first round, namely big man Quincy Davis, who was, not surprisingly, at the forefront of their campaign averaging 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Chen Ying-Chun also did well, posting 13.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists over four contests. Even young gun Huang Tsung-Han impressed with 7.5 points and 5.0 boards per game, though he played only twice.

Moving forward, Chinese Taipei have a lot to think about. First, despite Quincy Davis's production, he is already 35 years old. That means that the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) should probably begin looking for someone suitable who will inherit Davis's role as the national team's enforcer and lynchpin. Apart from that, don't be surprised if we've seen the last remnants of this country's "golden generation." Guys like Lu Cheng-Ju, Tseng Wen-Ting and Tsai Wen-Cheng probably won't be called up again, and that means the door is wide open for up-and-coming youth players like Jonah Morrison, Wu Pei-Chia, Lin Ting-Chien, Tang Wei-Chieh and Jeff Wu to fill up the spots.

INDIA
As always, India showed flashes of brilliance and strong potential in the Asian Qualifiers, but they always came up short during endgames because of inexperience. They were competitive in most of their matches, but they just lacked the leadership and consistency needed to succeed at a high level of play. They very nearly toppled Syria on the road in the third window, and they were blown out of the water by Jordan to close their Asian Qualifiers campaign.

The emergence of Satnam Singh was one of the bright spots for India throughout the first round. The towering 7ft 2in (2.18m) behemoth showcased his potential for dominant play at different moments, and though he was still inconsistent, it's clear that he has the makings of someone who can almost single-handedly lift India to victory in the coming years. It's also hard to believe he's just 22 years old, which means there's so much room for his maturity and leadership to grow.

On the other hand, the rise of Satnam became a bit of a necessity with the noticeable absence of India's big three throughout the Asian Qualifiers - Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh. Without the experience, leadership and production of those three key players - arguably India's best talents for the past five years or so - India just couldn't get over the hump. Looking ahead, fans of Indian hoops definitely would want to see  those three players return to the national team to further bolster India's chances next year.

HONG KONG
The Asian Qualifiers seem to have been one big rude awakening for the Hong Kongers, who dropped all their games by double-digits, often by more than 20 points. Their best performance came in their last match against Korea, where they stuck close and lost by only 13 points.

Duncan Reid was overall Hong Kong's most efficient player in the Asian Qualifiers, though he played in just 4 games. The 6ft 9in (2.04m) center averaged around 15 points, 9 rebounds and 1 block for Hong Kong, but that wasn't nearly enough to carry them to at least one win. Another player who shone brightly was sharp-shooter Lee Ki. The 30-year-old shooting guard waxed hot a few times for Hong Kong, and whenever he shot the ball well, Hong Kong looked like they could hang with the big boys. Sadly, those times were too few and far between.

As Hong Kong goes on more than 12 months of not playing in the Qualifiers, they should take stock and use this time to see how they can improve their national team program in the long-run. They've made strides in recent years by having many standouts play in more competitive professional or semi-professional circuits, but as a national team, they need much more exposure and experience.

IRAQ
The Iraqis actually began their Asian Qualifiers campaign like a house on fire, shocking Iran in their very first game. They crashed and burned, however, after losing four of their next five matches and finding themselves out of contention for the next round.

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It's no surprise that DeMario Mayfield was this team's best player in the first round, averaging 19.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game - all team-highs. He, quite literally, does everything for Iraq. The big question, of course, is will he still be around in November 2019 when Iraq returns to action in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers?

Apart from him, though, there's hardly anyone who has consistently stepped up for Iraq. Hassan Abdullah is the only other player who nets double-digit scoring, while other talents like Ali Ismael and Mohammed Abdulqader haven't been highly productive at a steady pace. Young guys like Karrar Hamzah and Ihab Al-Zuhairi have a lot of growing up to do for Iraq to drastically improve their chances in 2019.

Enzo Flojo

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Enzo Flojo

Enzo Flojo

Enzo Flojo, one of Manila’s top basketball bloggers, always has Asian basketball on his mind. His biggest basketball dream? To see an Asian team as a legitimate gold medal contender in world basketball. He believes it will happen in his lifetime. If you have big basketball dreams like he does, then you’re in the right place.