BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Arsalan Kazemi knows how it feels to represent a country. He’s been a key player on the Iran national team for more than a decade, so he knows well what it means to shoulder that burden when playing outside of the country.

"Obviously, Beirut Club is one of the stronger teams in our group and it should be exciting to play against them."

 
Playing for ZobAhan in the WASL West Asia league might not be exactly the same, but Kazemi does recognize the similarities.

"It’s a club competition, but at the end of the day, you represent your country and you want to show which country plays better basketball," said Kazemi.

Nonetheless, whatever the differences in club and national team competitions, ZobAhan will rest assured knowing the Kazemi is well-versed in both formats. The 2.02M (6'8") forward has played in two FIBA Basketball World Cups and three FIBA Asia Cups and has also played in three FIBA Asia Champions Cup, winning it all one time in 2019 with Petrochimi.

Even then, Kazemi is still excited for the upcoming venture that is the WASL West Asia league where he and ZobAhan will be facing Al Ittihad from Syria, Orthodox Ramallah from Palestine, and the champions from Lebanon, Beirut Club, in Group A.

"When we found out that we were playing, we were very excited because anytime you get a chance to go up against the best teams from other counties is fun for us and for fans that can come and watch," said Kazemi.

"Obviously, Beirut Club is one of the stronger teams in our group and it should be exciting to play against them," he added. Beirut and ZobAhan will face in the first game of the Group on December 22.

Kazemi has played against the Lebanon national team in Lebanon at Asia Cup 2017 and now he will have the chance to experience the cheers of the Lebanon basketball fans once again when they root for Beirut Club at home.

Aside from that away game in Lebanon, Kazemi is also looking forward to the intense atmosphere in the all of the home venues that ZobAhan will travel to in this home-and-away format of the WASL West Asia league.

"I played in [Aleppo] against the Syria national team and the atmosphere was out of this world," he said, looking ahead to the clash against Al Ittihad on December 29. "I’m really excited to be able to play there again."

This inaugural season will progress in the Group Stage with all teams in the same group playing against each other in a home-and-away format. At the end of the Group Stage, the first-place teams in each group will advance directly to the Semi-Finals. The second- and third-place teams will crossover to play in the Qualification to Semi-Finals match-ups.

The teams will advance forward through this knockout phase onwards to the Final. Both teams that make it through to the championship game will lock up their spots in the WASL Final 8.

Of course, it will be just as exciting through this season when ZobAhan plays at home in front of their loyal fans. Kazemi, who originates from Esfahan, notes that while the team is still building up for the WASL West Asia debut, a big push of effort in this inaugural run could "be very exciting for the people of my hometown".

FIBA