MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - Several teams have retooled and reloaded their lineups in a big way in a bid to make a big impression in the second Asian Qualifiers window.

Most teams, of course, have tweaked their rosters here or there, especially those dealing with injuries, but a handful of squads have reportedly added significant pieces that can drastically affect their fortunes in the second window, which begins next Thursday, 22 February.

Iran

Team Melli have vengeance in mind for the second window, especially when they face first window tormentors Iraq on 25 February at the Azady Gym in Tehran. The Iranians are upbeat about their chances, though, what with iconic wingman Samad Nikkhah Bahrami expected to return to the national side after a couple of years of absence. Behemoth Hamed Haddadi was also initially supposed to be included in the roster, but he still isn't 100%. Iran are also looking to bring Kazakhstan back to earth on 22 February, and Bahrami's presence combined with the old reliables Arsalan Kazemi, Oshin Sahakian and Sajjad Mashayekhi may just be enough to hand the Steppe Wolves their first defeat of the Asian Qualifiers. It will be easier said than done, though, especially with the game to be played in Astana.

Korea

Korea will probably have one of the most interesting lineups to field in the second window. Already potent with their rare combination of speed, shooting and size, the Koreans further bolstered their depth by adding veteran KBL foreign reinforcement Ricardo Ratliffe as their naturalized player to go along with the KBL's finest three-point shooting artist, Doo KyungMin. Clearly, Korea do not want a repeat of their home loss to China in the first window. Both of Korea's second window fixtures will be at the Jamsil Arena in Seoul, and they definitely want to give their home fans a pair of wins before they go on a two-game road trip in the third window. The inside-outside combo of Ratliffe and KyungMin should provide coach Hur Jae with yet another potent scoring option, and their presence could really be game-changers as Korea gun for their second and third wins.

Chinese Taipei

Three names stand out when looking at Chinese Taipei's pool for the second window: playmaker Chen Ying-Chun, wingman Chang Tsung-Hsien and seasoned slotman Tseng Wen-Ting. Chang (more popularly known as Jet Chang), who last played for the national team in the FIBA Asia Cup 2011, was once considered their most elite wing scorer, while Tseng, who last played in the FIBA Asia Cup 2015, is now on the homestretch of his playing days, which began when he was still a wide-eyed teenager in 2001. Both will provide much-needed experience and leadership to a squad that, at times, looked dazed and confused in the first window. Chen, meanwhile, is projected to be the point guard of the future for Taipei. He is currently impressing in the CBA, where he plies his trade for the Guangzhou Long Lions, and his varied skill-set makes him a threat on both ends of the floor.

Qatar

A few key national team players who missed the first window are expected to suit up for Al Annabi in the second window, and all of them can make quite the impact. First off is floor general Mansour El Hadary, whose quickness and shiftiness enables him to weave through traffic and score from nearly every spot on the floor. Next up is young center Yehia Abdelhaleem, whose height and heft belie his true nature as a perimeter threat. The 6ft 9in (2.05m) 21-year-old can mix it up with the best of them in the paint and stretch the defense with his velvet touch from long distance. Lastly, Qatar will be reinforced by naturalized guard Trey Johnson, who, despite being a dinosaur at 36 years old, can still hack it with cagers half his age. Johnson should give stability to Qatar's backcourt, which has been dominated a little too much by young gun Saad Abdulrahman.

China

We will see a vastly different Chinese team in the second window compared to their first window squad that brought home a pair of mightily impressive victories. This is, of course, because of their unique two-national-teams system that maximizes their deep pool of talent. For the first time since the Rio Olympics 2016, we will get to witness star forward Yi Jianlian, who was stellar in the world-level event two years ago, averaging around 20 points and 7 rebounds per contest. He will share the spotlight with backcourt stud Guo Ailun, who has been China's top point guard for the past handful of years. Their dynamic duo combination will be tested by the dangerous Tall Blacks on 23 February at the Dongguan City Basketball Center, and it'll be very exciting to see if this iteration of the Chinese national team can duplicate the unbeaten run of their compatriots in the first window.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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