Syria aim to pull off surprises in second window

DAMASCUS (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Syria were already impressive in 2017, but they are aiming to make an even bigger impact in the second Asian Qualifiers window.

Much of that is thanks to adding a new naturalized player in Justin Hawkins, who was last seen at the FIBA Asia level playing for Al Shorta in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016, and the return of old reliables like Micheal Madanly and Tarek Al-Jabi.

"I think that with the new lineup and the advent of our naturalized player Justin Hawkins, we will be able to provide a better performance than the one we showed in the first window," Al-Jabi said. "We will fight to win the game for our country."

Hawkins averaged nearly 30 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals per game in the Asia Champions Cup 2016, and the 32-year-old 6ft 8in (2.03m) wingman is expected to affect Syria's fortunes in a very significant way in their games this week.

"Justin is an experienced basketball player, and he will definitely deal with the big games smartly, in addition to being an excellent scorer," added Al-Jabi.

Even with Hawkins in tow, however, pulling off a pair of big wins will be easier said than done, especially with fellow WABA teams Lebanon and Jordan as their opponents. The 27-year-old Al-Jabi knows that getting the victories would be no cake walk, but he is also confident that they have what it takes to prevail.

"Jordan players are experienced, mainly because they have played the same lineup for a long time," Al-Jabi said. "But we will try as much as possible to achieve the desired positive results."

Al-Jabi is also extra wary of the Lebanese, who have had a long history of success in international basketball, while Syria have struggled achieving promising outcomes due to a number of internal struggles. This is great motivation, though, for Al-Jabi and his teammates, who are surely raring to bring Syria back to top tier status.

"They certainly have players with high skills, as well as the presence of the strong league in Lebanon," he said. "We will see how our coach wants us to apply everything we have practiced and look at the most important keys to enable us to win over the Lebanese team. In my opinion, nothing is impossible in the world of basketball, and we will fight to try to make a surprise, although it will be difficult with the game in Beirut."

FIBA