Demario Mayfield grateful to represent Iraq at Asian Qualifiers

BAGHDAD (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Wearing the green and white of Iraq is an honor for naturalized player Demario Mayfield.

Mayfield helped carry the Iraqis to a big win over fancied Iran in their first game of the Asian Qualifiers last November while also leading them to a near-upset of Kazakhstan in their second fixture. He has become, needless to say, quite the shot in the arm for the West Asian squad very few thought could make any sort of noise at this level.

"He started playing in 2016 for the Naft (Ministry of Oil) club and, thanks to him, the club won that season his first title of champion of Iraq," said Iraqi Basketball Federation Secretary-General Khaled Najm in a recent interview. "We figured DeMario could be an asset to the national team, and we offered him to become an Iraqi."

For the 26-year-old Mayfield, being Iraq's naturalized player is a fresh opportunity to keep doing what he loves while at the same time playing against high quality competition.

"I WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY THAT IRAQ HAS GIVEN ME, AND I HAVE ONLY RECEIVED SIGNS OF LOVE SINCE I ARRIVED" MayfieldMayfield

"I do what I love, and I hope we will continue our journey." Mayfield said. "My goal is to reach the highest level of the competition. I will always be grateful for the opportunity that Iraq has given me, and I have only received signs of love since I arrived."

Judging by how well Iraq played in the first window, it seems Mayfield is on track to spearhead the national team's charge in their future matches. The 1.96m guard gave the Iraqis a dynamic playmaker who could facilitate the offense and score the basketball. Mayfield, however, is quick to deflect the praise to his teammates.

"We were able to play well because we had a great training camp in Baghdad/Turkey and all the guys focused on getting better each day by listening to our coaching staff's game plan," he explained. "We have a special group of players here. All the credit goes to our coaching staff, Iraqi players and the Iraqi administration."

Riding high on the wave of their strong play, Iraq are heading into the second Asian Qualifiers window this February as a legitimate threat.

"WE HAVE GREAT FANS HERE IN IRAQ THAT SUPPORT AND BELIEVE IN US TO REPRESENT THIS GREAT COUNTRY. WE WILL COMPETE AS HARD AS WE CAN TO PUT THE TEAM IN A GREAT POSITION TO WIN" MayfieldMayfield

"Our chances to get two wins are very high!" Mayfield exclaimed. "First, we must focus on Qatar, which is the next biggest game on our schedule, and then Iran. To achieve this, we must continue to improve everyday, listen to our coaching staff then execute our game plan as efficiently as we can."

That will be easier said than done, of course, but if anyone can continue to drive Iraq's rise in Asian basketball, it's Mayfield, who acknowledges the strong support of Iraq's basketball fans for the national squad.

"We have great fans here in Iraq that support and believe in us to represent this great country," he said. "We will compete as hard as we can to put the team in a great position to win. Go Iraq!"

FIBA