JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Freddy Ibrahim is full of optimism over what the future holds now that Jordan have begun authoring a new chapter for the men's basketball program following the arrival of Roy Rana.
The Canadian mentor has been appointed as the Falcons' new head coach and will also serve as their general manager of basketball operations, as announced by the Jordan Basketball Federation (JBF) last June.
"I think we're building something special," he said in a video posted by the JBF in their official social media pages. "Day by day we're learning new things, and we're learning how to be together and to play with each other."
The team has commenced its preparations for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 and that serves as the Jordanians' first major campaign under the tutelage of Rana, who previously helmed Canada's youth squads and Egypt.
Needless to say, it is their first big test together, too, especially for the 56-year-old as he's steering a program hungry for redemption after falling just short of taking home a medal in 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Then under Coach Wesam Al-Sous, Jordan made a spirited run toward the Semi-Finals before bowing to eventual runners-up Lebanon, ultimately finishing fourth after losing to New Zealand in the Third-Place Game.
Reaching the final four is without a doubt an achievement in itself already. But everyone from that squad refused to settle whatsoever, as they couldn't put an end to the country's longing for an Asia Cup medal.
The last time that the West Asian contenders did as much was in 2011, when the batch bannered by icons Zaid Abbas and Sam Daghles nabbed silver following a tightly contested Final against China in Wuhan.
Of course, Ibrahim & Co. would want to succeed the way their predecessors did, and none in this present-day unit should be more motivated than the star guard himself as he was part of the unit that competed in Jakarta.
In fact, he was one of the 2022 Asia Cup's best - and one of the most exciting, too. To this day, fans remember him for that wild buzzer-beating game-winner versus Chinese Taipei to bring themselves to the Quarter-Finals.
He'd go on to finish the tournament with per-game averages of 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists - indeed a remarkable showing, given the fact that it was only his first-ever stint in the quadrennial event.
Soon, Ibrahim could be bound for another run and he would definitely want to reach the podium this time. But more than finding redemption, it's really what Jordan would be able to achieve in the long-term.
"We definitely have new challenges. I mean, we did the Asia Cup, we did very, very well. But we got a new staff, new coaches, and with those come new opportunities," the 28-year-old playmaker reflected.
Rana has brought 15 players to Beirut, Lebanon for a pocket tournament as part of Jordan's buildup for the Jeddah games and aside from the national team mainstays like Ibrahim, younger players were included as well.
One of which is Saif Al-Deen Saleh, who was part of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024 All-Star Five after leading Jordan to a historic Semi-Final run that sent the country back to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup after 29 years.
Then there are also two of NBA all-time great Hakeem Olajuwon's sons in Abdullah and Abdul-Rahman, making this roster - and potentially their final 12-man lineup - all the more interesting to watch.
No wonder Ibrahim's excited.
"I think younger players will now be able to show themselves. Hopefully, we can do even better than what we did last time. But the main goal is to just get better and over these next few months, build on that," he said.
Still, it isn't lost on the seasoned internationalist that not everything could happen in an instant, that's why he is simply trusting the process as they now try to build an even more successful Team Jordan.
"New system, new coaching staff... it's not gonna happen overnight, but over time I think we'll be able to do very big things," said Ibrahim, who's been with the program since 2019. "We have a lot of potential here."
FIBA