AMMAN (Jordan) - It has been almost a decade but some talents from the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2016 held in Tehran, Iran remain in the spotlight to this day.
From becoming mainstays of their respective national teams to achieving glory even in the professional ranks, we take a look at some from that class that have succeeded.
Karim Zeinoun, Ali Mansour (Lebanon)
Maybe one can say that their careers will forever be intertwined and that's because Karim Zeinoun and Ali Mansour have enjoyed tremendous success together.
Since helping Lebanon to a Semi-Final run in the U18, the two have become key cogs of the men's team as they've played big roles in the program's success in recent years, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022.
The tandem have won alongside each other in the pros, too. Aside from winning championships in their domestic league, Zeinoun and Mansour helped Al Riyadi bring home the prestigious FIBA West Asia Super League 2024 crown.
Ihab Al-Zuhairi (Iraq)
Ihab Al-Zuhairi was a force to be reckoned with in Tehran. The bruising 2.11 M (g'11") big man led the tournament in points and rebounds with 32.0 and 18.5 per game, which included a 45-24 outing against Thailand during the Group Phase.
So, there was no doubt then that he'll be with the Iraq men's team, which happened in that same year. Since then, he's become a consistent figure in the squad, and is now looking to help the program reach the 2025 Asia Cup through the Qualifiers.
Yudai Nishida, Avi Schafer (Japan)
Japan finished as runners-up to the host nation in the 2016 U18 and playing key roles in that campaign was Yudai Nishida and Avi Koki Schafer.
Nishida himself was one the tournament's best scorers with 17.0 points a game while Schafer, while his numbers was not as gaudy as his teammate's, provided the intangibles as an enforcer to the squad through his solid inside presence.
Eventually, the two would make their way to the senior team and become part of major campaigns. Schafer was part of the crew that played in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, while Nishida helped out in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 run in Okinawa.
Yudha Saputera, Muhammad Arighi (Indonesia)
Yudha Saputera and Muhamad Arighi have come a long way since that Tehran stint. The two were part of the Indonesia squad that competed gallantly in the 2022 Asia Cup in Jakarta and have become mainstays of the men's team.
Aside from playing the 2023 World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Saputera and Arighi suited up for Indonesia in the 2023 Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Syria.
Both men have experienced a FIBA club competition, too., with Arighi and his Pelita Jaya reaching the Basketball Champions League Asia inaugurals after sweeping the Qualifiers, where Saputera and Prawira Harum Bandung competed in as well.
Hu Mingxuan (China)
The 2016 U18 competitions was actually Hu Mingxuan's lone FIBA youth event campaign, but he soon became an integral part of the China men's team.
Three years after that, the 1.93 M (6'4") guard would grow into a national team mainstay that has competed in various major events - from the 2020 Olympic qualifying in Canada, to the 2022 Asia Cup, and in last year's World Cup.
FIBA