MIES (Switzerland) - As the road toward the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 continues, we take a quick look back at the previous cycle - and some of the moments that made it what it was.
From tens of thousands of screaming souls housed in one venue to the scintillating on-court showings, let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the 2023 World Cup Asian Qualifiers' best stories.
Best crowd
Excitement was felt in the Philippines months before the event proper after 12,956 fans turned up at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan to witness Gilas go up against Lebanon in the sixth window back in February 24, 2023.
It was easily the biggest crowd of that Asian Qualifiers' window, and the partisan Filipino crowd got themselves a treat as they witnessed the World Cup hosts take a vengeful 107-96 victory against the Cedars.
That game saw the crew knock down 17 threes en route to avenging the 81-85 defeat they suffered in August of 2022 - a game which brought so many stories that it deserves to be talked about more down below.
Window 6 was, in general, a good stretch as far as gate attendances are concerned across the globe, as fans came in droves to show support to their national teams.
Best solo act
The 2023 Asian Qualifiers had no shortage of impressive showings, but one that left a mark was the 41-point eruption by Mohammad Jamshidi to power Iran to an 80-68 win against Syria back in February 2022.
It was, at the time, the most points scored by a player in a 2023 World Cup Qualifiers game until Justin Brownlee tied as much a year later, but that came in a losing effort as the Philippines bowed to Jordan, 91-90.
What Jamshidi did, on the other hand, became all the more memorable as he led Team Melli to a come-from-behind win in which they rallied from an early 12-point deficit to eventually qualify for the Second Round.
All in all, the Asia Cup champion former West Asia Super League star shot 12-of-18 from the floor and went 17-of-18 from the free throw line. He also collected 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal to finish with an efficiency of 48.
Oh, did we mention that he fired that many points without a single shot from beyond the arc? Crazy, indeed.
Best turnaround
And since we're already talking about comebacks, Bahrain should be up there in the discussion. The Gulf team erased a 16-point deficit and took down Kazakhstan, 62-51, in a First Round clash back on July 4, 2022.
It was easily the 2023 Asian Qualifiers' biggest comeback, which became possible thanks to a collective effort led by Wayne Chism (16 points, 12 rebounds), Mohammed Ameer (14 points), and Ahmed Alderazi (13 points).
They found themselves staring at a 24-9 deficit after the first 10 minutes, but answered back with a 28-5 retaliation in the ensuing frame - and that was all they needed to turn the game around in their favor.
Best show stealer
What many fans and pundits would remember about the previous cycle was the much anticipated FIBA stint of Jordan Clarkson for the Philippines, which happened about four years after he first joined the men's team.
It happened during the fourth window, precisely on August 26, 2022 at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex as Gilas flew to Beirut to face Lebanon. So stoked were the local fans, too, that nearly 7,500 showed up to watch.
The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year didn't disappoint, finishing with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists in the 37 minutes he played. However, the night belonged to the Cedars, particularly to Wael Arakji.
The former Asia Cup MVP stole the show, knocking down the dagger triple with 16.3 seconds left to douse cold water at the Philippines' comeback attempt and push their lead to 83-78 before leaving with the four-point W.
And as if it wasn't enough, Arakji pulled off the famous 'Night, Night' celebration shortly after hitting that big of a shot, much of course to the delight of the entire Lebanese faithful that trooped to the venue.
Best surprise
Arguably one of the developments that flew under many people's radars was the mastery of Kazakhstan against Iran during the 2023 Asian Qualifiers. Yes, mastery, because the Steppen Wolves beat 'em twice.
Looking back, the team from Central Asia finished as the no. 1 team in Group D with a 5-1 record. They won their first five outings, highlighted by the pair of upsets against the three-time Asia Cup gold medalists.
First was a 73-69 escape back in February 24, 2022 in Tehran, where they overhauled a 13-point third-quarter deficit with a solid finish thanks to the efforts of Nikolay Bazhin (23 points) and Anthony Clemmons (17 points).
The Kazakhs then showed that it was no fluke by following it up with a 68-60 win at home on July 1 of that same year, with Rustam Murzagaliyev starring with 26 points and Dmitriy Gavrilov backing him up with 16.
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