JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - It's all about looking at the bigger picture for Coach Hakan Demir.
Qatar did not have the most ideal of campaigns in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 but the Turkish mentor chooses to look at the positives they've made not just in the tourney itself but since manning the helm months ago.
"I believe if we look at this journey from eight months ago to today, I believe Qatar basketball and the team has improved," he offered after their loss to Australia Sunday that marked the end of their stay in this city.
Formerly of the Iran men's team, the 56-year-old was appointed ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers' second window just last November as the program moved on from Greek Thanasis Skourtopoulos.
He inherited a group that went 0-2 in Window 1 but instantly turned things around in the ensuing window, first by beating India and then, interestingly, Team Melli in overtime to complete a two-game sweep.
We will prepare, we will continue our momentum to go up.
The Qataris eventually ended the Qualifiers with a fiery four-game winning streak, finishing as the second-best side in Group E to send the country to the Asia Cup for the first time since 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon.
It was quite unfortunate, though, that they couldn't carry over that success come the event proper, as the squad dropped all three of its assignments in a truly challenging Group A led by the reigning two-time champs.
But that's not to say they didn't try. In fact, in their opening game, Team Qatar appeared to be on their way to upsetting the 2022 runners-up Lebanon but fell to Karim Zeinoun & Co. in the end, 84-80.
Demir and his charges then attempted to redeem themselves versus Korea and had the opportunity to do so, but their East Asian counterparts displayed better poise in the endgame led by star winger Lee Hyunjung.
Now they are among the teams that have exited early but none from them are hanging their heads, with the veteran bench tactician standing firm in his belief that they could've stayed had they been in a different group.
"My team, until the end, they showed their character and they kept fighting," he said. "Every game we showed our fight and team spirit. I believe if we [had been] in another group, we would've had more chances to qualify."
Moving forward, it's all about honing his team as best as he can, and Demir definitely saw a lot of potential from this particular unit as there were those who served as bright spots in an otherwise dim campaign.
The debuting Brandon Goodwin, for one, has emerged as a lead guard after being one of the competition's best players, as evidenced by his per-game averages of 25.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in 36.6 minutes.
Abdulrahman Saad, on the other hand, was a picture of steadiness being one of the more experienced cogs of this team, as he posted 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in their first two outings before sitting out versus the Boomers.
Then there are also guys such as first-timer Zineedine Bedri (12.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG), athletic wing Tyler Harris (10.7 PPG), and Alen Hadzibegovic (10.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG) - all of which could represent the flag for years to come.
Lots of upside, indeed; thus, the optimism on Demir's part.
"We have to keep on improving some young guys, new generations until 2027," he said.
"We will work on them," he added. "And we will prepare, we will continue our momentum to go up."
FIBA