FIBA Basketball
QAT - Stiebing hopes to build momentum
DOHA (FIBA World Championship) - Qatar coach Joey Stiebing is hoping his side can build on their recent Jones Cup performance as they warm-up for their first-ever appearance at the FIBA World Championship. Stiebing`s troops finished third in the eight-team tournament - held in Taiwan - although they would have won it had the round-robin format of previous editions remained. This year a round-robin round was followed by a play-off involving the top four teams
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DOHA (FIBA World Championship) - Qatar coach Joey Stiebing is hoping his side can build on their recent Jones Cup performance as they warm-up for their first-ever appearance at the FIBA World Championship.
Stiebing`s troops finished third in the eight-team tournament - held in Taiwan - although they would have won it had the round-robin format of previous editions remained. This year a round-robin round was followed by a play-off involving the top four teams.
Although Stiebing was disappointed his side were beaten in the semi-finals, they went on to beat a Korea University Select Team 87-74 in the third-place play-off and he believes there were plenty of positives to take into their final preparations for next month`s showpiece in Japan.
"It went well, we were 7-2 and finished third, and if they kept the round-robin format we would have finished first," he told PA Sport.
"Unfortunately we drew the host team, Chinese Taipei, in the semi-finals, and they beat us. I didn`t like the way we played in front of the home crowd. I think they (his players) let the crowd affect them, they played in front of a packed house, and they didn`t play the way you need to play on the road. We kind of played to the crowd and you`ve got to stick with what you do best on the road, and we didn`t do a good job of that.
"Two of our top players were injured - one (Daoud Mousa) didn`t play at all; the other (Yaseen Ismail) played the last three or four games but limited minutes - so overall I was pretty pleased.
"We`ve got some mistakes we need to correct, and it was very hard to practice because we played nine games in nine days, but it`s early in the year and I`m pleased with where we`re at right now."
Qatar`s plans have altered slightly as the Stankovic Cup, to be held in Damascus, Syria, was cancelled because of the Israeli-Lebanon conflict. They now have a training camp in Turkey before hosting a four-team tournament against Angola, Latvia and the Philippines.
Their final stop before Japan is New Zealand for two games which should provide ideal preparation for their Group C clash against Australia. Qatar have also been grouped with Brazil, Greece, Lithuania and Turkey, and Stiebing knows his team will have a tough battle on their hands.
"Before the draw I was very high, I was excited about the opportunity of going to the World Championship, but now I`ve come down to earth a little bit," added the former New Orleans University coach.
"I feel like we`ve got the toughest group there is - there`s not one easy game. My outlook was if we got one African country in our pool, and maybe a Panama, a Venezuela, we could possibly beat them.
"One pool got that, I think Japan were in the pool I`d have liked to get - Group B. But we didn`t get that. We`re in another pool and it`s going to be very tough, we`re up against some outstanding teams."
"I`ve been able to get some tape on Greece, Lithuania, Turkey and Brazil, and the talent that they have is just a lot better than what we have - a small country as we are.
"We`re going to go there and give it our best shot, be as competitive as possible, and maybe pull off an upset and steal a win or two. If I had to pick two teams we could beat, then it`d be Turkey and Brazil."
Ben Collins
PA Sport, Exclusively for FIBA.com
DOHA (FIBA World Championship) - Qatar coach Joey Stiebing is hoping his side can build on their recent Jones Cup performance as they warm-up for their first-ever appearance at the FIBA World Championship.
Stiebing`s troops finished third in the eight-team tournament - held in Taiwan - although they would have won it had the round-robin format of previous editions remained. This year a round-robin round was followed by a play-off involving the top four teams.
Although Stiebing was disappointed his side were beaten in the semi-finals, they went on to beat a Korea University Select Team 87-74 in the third-place play-off and he believes there were plenty of positives to take into their final preparations for next month`s showpiece in Japan.
"It went well, we were 7-2 and finished third, and if they kept the round-robin format we would have finished first," he told PA Sport.
"Unfortunately we drew the host team, Chinese Taipei, in the semi-finals, and they beat us. I didn`t like the way we played in front of the home crowd. I think they (his players) let the crowd affect them, they played in front of a packed house, and they didn`t play the way you need to play on the road. We kind of played to the crowd and you`ve got to stick with what you do best on the road, and we didn`t do a good job of that.
"Two of our top players were injured - one (Daoud Mousa) didn`t play at all; the other (Yaseen Ismail) played the last three or four games but limited minutes - so overall I was pretty pleased.
"We`ve got some mistakes we need to correct, and it was very hard to practice because we played nine games in nine days, but it`s early in the year and I`m pleased with where we`re at right now."
Qatar`s plans have altered slightly as the Stankovic Cup, to be held in Damascus, Syria, was cancelled because of the Israeli-Lebanon conflict. They now have a training camp in Turkey before hosting a four-team tournament against Angola, Latvia and the Philippines.
Their final stop before Japan is New Zealand for two games which should provide ideal preparation for their Group C clash against Australia. Qatar have also been grouped with Brazil, Greece, Lithuania and Turkey, and Stiebing knows his team will have a tough battle on their hands.
"Before the draw I was very high, I was excited about the opportunity of going to the World Championship, but now I`ve come down to earth a little bit," added the former New Orleans University coach.
"I feel like we`ve got the toughest group there is - there`s not one easy game. My outlook was if we got one African country in our pool, and maybe a Panama, a Venezuela, we could possibly beat them.
"One pool got that, I think Japan were in the pool I`d have liked to get - Group B. But we didn`t get that. We`re in another pool and it`s going to be very tough, we`re up against some outstanding teams."
"I`ve been able to get some tape on Greece, Lithuania, Turkey and Brazil, and the talent that they have is just a lot better than what we have - a small country as we are.
"We`re going to go there and give it our best shot, be as competitive as possible, and maybe pull off an upset and steal a win or two. If I had to pick two teams we could beat, then it`d be Turkey and Brazil."
Ben Collins
PA Sport, Exclusively for FIBA.com