JOR – Jordan doing it for King and country

WUHAN (FIBA Asia Championship) – Few people know it, but Jordan had some extra motivation when they defeated the Philippines in the Semi-Final of the FIBA Asia Championship, continuing their resurgence from fourth place in Group F all the way to the gold medal game.

“We dedicated these games to our King,” coach Tab Baldwin said. “From my very uneducated position I can see he deserves this dedication and it means something to the guys.”

Not only does it mean something to the guys, it means a lot to King Abdullah too.

“Before the game we had a call from the Palace,” revealed star forward Zaid Abbas.

“He said all of Jordan is watching you guys and supporting you so give us your biggest effort. We did that, and we deserved this after five years of working hard.”

For point guard Sam Daghles, who has represented Jordan every year since 2007, the dedication was something special to do for something so important.

Jordan has never played in a FIBA Asia Championship Final nor an Olympic Games.

“We dedicated this for our King and country because it is so big. We’ve never been there,” he said.

“When you talk about pride and your King and your country everybody jumps on board, because when you are playing with your country’s flag on your shirt it makes way more sense than when you are playing for a club.”

While the idea of dedicating something to a King is new for Baldwin, who grew up in the USA and then spent much of his adult life in New Zealand, his brief time in Amman has taught him just how important this is.

“For someone like me I never really understood it, not living in a Kingdom myself,” he said. “But King Abdullah is loved in Jordan, and he has proven himself, as his father did before him, to be very dedicated to the people of Jordan.”

Baldwin also thinks it has brought out something extra from his players, and hopes it can continue for one more game.

“This is the way we played in the Abdullah tournament (in July),” he said. “It has been inside the team and it has come out (again) at the right time.”

Jordan play the winner of the second Semi-Final between China and Korea in Sunday's Final of the FIBA Asia Championship.

The winner will receive direct qualification to the London Olympics.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA