Mirror, mirror on Manila Wall! Who's the toughest of them all?!
KUALA LUMPUR (Mageshwaran's AsiaScope) - The mirror on the wall would have gone mad if a question was posed to name the toughest team at the 27th FIBA Asia Championship to be played in Manila, Philippines from 1-11 August. The mythically perspicacious mirror would have been running in circles unable to settle in on any particular name irrespective of the ...
KUALA LUMPUR (Mageshwaran's AsiaScope) - The mirror on the wall would have gone mad if a question was posed to name the toughest team at the 27th FIBA Asia Championship to be played in Manila, Philippines from 1-11 August. The mythically perspicacious mirror would have been running in circles unable to settle in on any particular name irrespective of the fame, form or fortune from the past any team carries.
Such is the even-keeled nature of the competition which Italian Matteo Boniciolli, the coach of Kazakshtan summed up succinctly with a tongue-in-cheek humor that "we only wish to our opponent what they wish for us."
The unanimous verdict on predicting the top three that eventually will earn a ticket to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the end of this 11-day fiesta is that there are at least eight teams capable of achieving this feat.
Let's try and demystify the situation with a bird's eye view of the leading contenders.
As the hosts of the event, Philippines are obviously the most talked about team. There is an overwhelming positive energy that surrounds the Filipino fans - and trust me this number is mind-boggling these days, that one is tempted to put them as the leading contenders. But the pressure factor that can cut both ways leaves a lot of these millions of fans crossing their fingers.
Reigning champions China are on the lookout for a record 16th gold medal in the competition and remain the only FIBA Asia team that can play in FIBA's flagship competition for the fourth time in a row. Things looked well settled when Greek legend Panagiotis Giannakis, at the helm for China, named a rather youngish roster. But injuries to key players have forced a re-think and a re-haul of the roster bringing back veterans Wang Zhizhi and Zhu Fangyu, bringing down the number of younger legs.
Iran, as the latest winners of a FIBA Asia competition - the triumph at the 4th FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo, Japan last year earning them an automatic berth to the 27th FIBA Asia Championship - look the healthiest, steadiest and most accomplished team in the recent past. But the need to guard against complacency, which led to a disastrous exit in the Quarter-Final stage two years ago at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, is a very crucial element.
Korea too look solid and well prepared, but the lack of an established leader to marshal the resources - veteran Kim Joo-Sung is certainly not getting younger, Lee Seung-Jun needs to prove a lot of things and Lee Jonghyun is yet unproven at this level makes the task tougher for coach Yoo Jae-Hak.
Chinese Taipei can certainly count their chances as dark horses in these circumstances, especially with the naturalization of Quincy Davis, but will that be enough to carry them all the way through?
Jordan, who had a dream run two years ago in Wuhan, do not have the inspirational Sam Daghles, influential Zaid Abbaas nor the irresistible Rasheim Wright in their roster. Will Jimmy Baxter's inclusion as a naturalized player and the presence of Vangelis Aleksandris prove sufficient for another dream run by Al Nashama?
Qatar have one of the big names in Jarvis Hayes, a time-tested combination and a shrewd tactician in Tom Wisman on the bench, but will their players be able to defy the aching limbs and ageing bones?
Japan have Kosuke Takeuchi, Kosuke Kanamaru and the bristling Yuta Watanabe, but how much will these factors combined with the presence of JR Sakuragi help the Hayabusa shrug off the underachievers' tag?
Too many questions?! We didn't even ask if 'Triple J' Johnson with Anton Ponomarev can prove Kazakhstan's absence from the competition was a minor blip!
Little wonder, the mirror on the Manila wall has gone into a Russian roulette!
So long…
S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia
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