Gauging the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016 teams

MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - In two days’ time, the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016 will commence in Chenzhou, China, where Petrochimi is hoping to hoist the championship trophy as Iran guns for their sixth Champions Cup crown. Standing in their way, however, are several other teams bent on wrestling away Iran’s supremacy in the tournament.

Iran have won the Champions Cup five times, including all but one of the last six tournaments. The only time they lost was in the last nine years was when Al Riyadi Beirut pocketed the crown in Manila in 2011. Incidentally, Al Riyadi is out to spoil the party again here in Chenzhou as they are grouped with Petrochimi in Group A. Joining them are Qatar’s Al Rayyan, India’s ONGC and Chinese Taipei’s Pauian.

On the other half of the groupings are Al Ahli of UAE, Al Shorta of Iraq, Barsy Atyrau of Kazakhstan, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of China and the Malaysia Dragons.

The top four teams in each group will advance to the Quarter-Finals.

Let’s take a quick look at each of the teams and see where they stand as we approach the opening of the tournament.

Al Rayyan 

The Qataris will be without some of their time-honored stalwarts like Yaseen Musa, Mohm Mohammed and Erfan Ali Saeed, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t pack a wallop. Rising star Hassan Mohamed is expected to have a breakout performance in this tournament, while much of the production should come from imports Preston Knowles and Brandon Bowman. Knowles is a capable wingman fresh from the Italian Lega A, and his outside shooting should keep opposing defenses honest. Bowman, meanwhile, last played for Cyrpiot club Petrolina AEK Larnaca, recording 15.3 points and 6.9 boards per outing. He should be one of the team’s main weapons around the basket, where guys like Mohd and Saeed surely would have made a difference. Al Rayyan are good enough to get past the first round, though making the Semi-Finals may be a bit of a challenge.

Al Riyadi 

Riyadi is one of the most storied and revered franchises in Lebanon, and they are sure to make a lot of noise here in Chenzhou. Bannering them is living legend Fadi El Khatib, who, at 37 years old, is still balling strong for the Cedars. He remains one of the club’s top offensive weapons, and the crafty swingman is a lock to be among the tournament’s top scorers. Backing him up is American import Dewarwick Spencer, who will share the backcourt with the up-and-coming Wael Arakji. Up front, coach Slobodan Subotic will rely on 2.10m Nigerian center Alade Aminu together with national team veterans Ali Haidar and Joseph Aby Kheres. Riyadi should challenge Petrochimi for the top seed in Group A, and they are pegged to be among the top four teams in the entire field.

ONGC
 
The Indians will have their work cut out for them, especially since they don’t have any foreign reinforcements, but that doesn’t mean they should be overlooked. The dynamic duo of Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Amritpal Singh will lead this team from the front, while Trideep Rai and Yadwinder Singh will have their opprtunity to shine with the absence of other national team members like Amjyot Singh and TJ Sahi. ONGC will not be as deep as the other clubs in Group A, so they will probably have to scramble for the final Quarter-Finals spot, but if Vishesh and Amritpal can have a couple of good outings, anything can happen.

Pauian (Pure Youth Construction) 

Pauian is the first Taipei team to enter the tournament in a very long time, and their mission is to make a positive impression and help their main players — many of whom have served in the national team — improve even more. Having naturalized center Quincy Davis man the paint won’t be enough to make them dominate, but it should make them competitive. Veteran big man Wu Tai-Hao will help Davis shore up the interior, while wingmen Lin Chin-Pang and Douglas Creighton should be legitimate threats from the perimeter. Coach Chen Ying-Cheng’s wards will not be favored against the like sof Petrochimi and Riyadi, but they should be good enough to beat ONGC and make it to the next round.

Petrochimi
 
They are the odds-on favorites. With five national team members making up their core, Petrochimi have a very solid foundation, and with imports like James White IV and Gerald Robinson, Jr., coach Mehran Shahintab’s club just got a lot bigger and deeper. Petrochimi will lean a lot on versatile wingmen Mohammad Jamshidi and Behnam Yakhchali, both of whom shone for Team Melli in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016. The power forward pairing of Oshin Sahakian and Mohammad Hassanzadeh should also provide a lot of depth and experience, which they will need especially in the latter rounds. Given this team’s collective size, talent and pedigree, they should aim for no less than the title. Anything but that may considered utter failure.

Al Ahli
 
Not much is known about this UAE club, especially since their national team has not had much exposure in the past few years. Still, with former national pool members like Qais Al Shabebi, Khalifa Salem and Rashed Al Zaabi, Al Ahli have a reasonably degree of depth. Coupled with the addition of frontliners Samuel Young and Cheikh Samb, this unit may actually spring a surprise or two. Samb, in particular, is intriguing, since he played for Iran in the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup. They placed second behind Riyadi back then, so Samb has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. The 31-year-old slotman should prove to be tough to handle in the middle for Al Ahli’s foes. Making to the Quarter-Finals is pretty much a lock barring a major injury.

Al Shorta
 
The Iraqis are coming off a pretty good showing in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016, and they are hoping their club representative here will impress, too. That may well be the case, what with the burly Mohammed Al-Khafaji and the streaky Ali Ismael in tow. Both of those were integral as Iraq finished among the top four teams in Tehran a few weeks ago, and their production will be crucial here as well. Of course, they will also lean on American imports DeAndre Rice and Justin Hawkins. Rice is a solid wingman whose latest stints were in Uruguay and Oman, while Hawkins last played for the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the NBA D-League. If those two imports prove capable of carrying this team, Al Shorta may go far.

Barsy Atyrau
 
The Kazakhs have been regulars at this competition, and the team they’ve sent here have a lot of pieces we saw in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016. To be specific, guys like Nikolay Bazhkin, Pavel Ilin, Pavel Micheev and Mikhail Yevstigneyev — all of whom were vital cogs for Kazakhstan in Tehran - should be the leaders of Barsy in this tournament. That alone makes them quite dangerous, but having D-League player Trevin Parks makes them even more potent. Parks left the Delaware 87ers after just two games, but he should be an interesting pick-up for coach Bakic Vinko, who is hoping the 1.80m guard can dictate the tempo for his club. 2.08m big man Vadym Matyukevych, meanwhile, is expected to man the slot for this club along with Yevstigneyev and Micheev. Barsy are good enough to make it past the group stage, but they aren’t favored to go any further.

Xinjiang Flying Tigers 

The home team from Xinjiang will feature the twin tower combination of Zhou Qi and Andray Blatche. These two battled each other in the FIBA Asia Championship 2015, but now they have reunited and should prove to be very tough to handle for the Chinese club’s foes. They’re surrounded by a bevy of shooters, too, led by national team member Li Gen and guys like Makan Kelanbaike, Mugadaer Xirelijiang and Wang Zirui. That inside-outside connection makes this roster very dangerous, and Li Qiuping shouldn’t encounter much trouble in the group stage. When they do make it to the Quarter-Finals, though, the tough games begin, especially if they face any of the Iranians, Lebanese or Qataris. Still, with both Zhou and Blatche up front, Xinjiang should have the upper-hand in most occasions.

Malaysia Dragons 

The Dragons qualified by virtue of being the 2016 ASEAN Basketball League champions, but this team is very different from the one that brought home the bacon in that competition. Gone are Filipino imports Jason Brickman and Matthew Wright, as well as Americans Reggie Johnson and Calvin Godfrey. Titular coach Ariel Vanguardia has also bolted, opting to return to Manila to coach in the PBA. New bench tactician Chris Thomas will have to subsist on the mainstays Tian Yuan Kuek and Shee Fai Loh as well as national team veteran Lok Seng Mak while also leaning on new reinforcements Ryan Martin and Joel Wright. The Dragons are not expected to go far, and making it past the group phase should already be a monumental achievement.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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