Remembering Orabi when basketball stands as a great unifier

KUALA LUMPUR (Mageshwaran's AsiaScope) - The Father of Modern Olympics Pierre de Coubertin said in his 'Ode to sport':

"O Sport, You are Peace!
You forge happy bonds between the peoples
by drawing them together in reverence for strength
which is controlled, organised and self disciplined.
Trough you the young of the entire world
learn to respect one another,
and thus the diversity of national traits becomes a source
of generous and peaceful emulation!"

Sport unifies and how! These last few days have been the most gratifying period in my life watching sport. Where the mention of the name of a particular country evokes a whole lot of mixed feelings, here I was watching the basketball players of this country taking to court not only as a solace to themselves in this time of great trouble and turbulence, but also as a soothing message to the bleedings hearts back home.

Syria today is the raging debate in world politics. I don’t intend, and I won’t, to add anything to that debate. To me, the more significant matter was the very fact that teams from this turmoil-hit country were on court playing basketball.

Al Jaish, the club which represented Syria in the just concluded 24th FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Amman (Jordan) and the team of U16 youngsters who will play in the 3rd FIBA Asia U16 Championship which tipped off today at Tehran (Iran) are real life examples of what the father of modern Olympic movement Baron de Coubertin invoked in his Ode to Sport.

"Coming here is an achievement for this team," said Jaish’s coach Haytham Jamil in a conversation during the Champions Cup in Jordan.

Tears swelled in his eyes talking about the number of people involved in basketball who lost their lives for no mistake of theirs – just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most notable among them was FIBA Commissioner Riad Orabi.

A man of great humor, Orabi was one of those who was as tough nut to crack when sitting as a Game Commissioner as he was in having us reeling in laughter with his animated description of some Arabic folk tales. Just weeks after we had his company at the 21st FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women in Johor Bahru (Malaysia) in November last year, we heard he was killed in a bomb at a mosque where had gone to pray!

"What was his mistake," Jamil asked choking on his words. "What wrong did he do?"

"When we got the FIBA Asia invitation (to play in the Champions Cup), the first thing I told myself was ‘Ok here’s an opportunity to get life moving.’ A lot of people came and told me that the time given (for preparation) was too short and I was crazy to accept being a coach in this situation. My answer to all of them was ‘this is beyond basketball. We have to play because we have to play, not necessarily because we have to win’," he said.

"Look we have no control on what’s happening out there. And things have reached a stage where we can’t control. I prefer to worry about things that we can control. This is what I told the team when we set out to Amman.

"It’s the same message the U16 team carries when they play in Tehran," the 46-year-old said.

Those emotions found echo in the team that is playing in Tehran.

"These youngsters deserve a life better than what’s happening back home," said George Shakar, the coach of the U16 team in Tehran.

"They need to learn the positive values of life. They are just starting their adulthood. They need basketball to give them the very purpose of their life. Results on the court matter very little," Shakar added.

"For us, the participation here and in Amman is much beyond basketball," said Syrian Basketball Federation Secretary General Daniel Zou Al Kefel.

"Our aim is to leave a message that nothing can distract us from the game we love. We want to show the world Syria’s sporting spirit," he added.

I could only recall the great Baron’s Ode to Sport.

So long…

S Mageshwaran

FIBA Asia

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.