The A-Z of FIBA Asia 2011… Part 1

KUALA LUMPUR (Mageshwaran's AsiaScope) - It's that time of the year when introspection in retrospect is the order.

As another year comes to an end, I wondered if I could use the English alphabet to describe and depict the people who made a telling impact on our sport during the year. And it wasn't difficult.

Here's my A-Z for FIBA Asia 2011:

A for… Zaid Abbas

The Jordanian spearhead leads our reminiscence for the year. With 11.0 points per game, the 28-year-old Fujian XX forward defused many a coach's plan in taking his team to the final of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship at Wuhan. Wonder what might have been the result to the gold medal game (which Jordan lost 69-70 to China) if he had not fouled with more than 4 minutes on the clock.

B for… Baldwin

Tab Baldwin's ability to pull rabbits out of his coaching hat came to the fore once again, this time with limited time for preparation. The 53-year-old took over the reins of the Jordanian national team only in June, but just in about three months he had transformed a fragmented bunch of talented players into a forceful combination of formidable proportion. There were not many hearts that weren't weeping when Jordan lost to China in the 26th FIBA Asia Championship final, and many of them were for Baldwin.

C for… Cho Sungmin

In five minutes flat, this 28-year-old snatched victory from jaws of defeat for Korea, and a bronze medal and subsequently a place in the FIBA OQT. Having seen his team trail for a better part of the third place play-off against Philippines at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship, the Sonic Boom KT forward reeled in 12 points, including two fiery three-pointers, leading Korea's 20-11 triumphant rampage in the final five minutes.

D for… Daghles

The talisman of Jordan's Al Nashama campaign at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship. On court, the 32-yaer-old averaged 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, which were undoubtedly valuable. But it was his off-court disposition that became more famous. Moments before the crucial quarterfinal game against twice defending champions Iran, Daghles delivered in the Jordanian locker room a speech, which coach Baldwin went on to term as a "rare player pep talk in his more than 100 locker room career". The rest as they was history.

E for… Marcus Eugene Douthit

It is the little middle name of this influential naturalized Filipino, who took care of coach Rajko Toroman's need for size in the speedy outfit that brings him to this letter. A sparkling performance - with an average of 21.9 points and 12.2 rebounds per game - leading the Filipino rally in two crucial games more than justified the naturalization of this 210-cm Providence College alumnus. I was among the many who wondered how he missed the All-Star at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

F for… Fadi El Khatib

By his sheer absence at the biggest stage of the tear, the most popular player in FIBA Asia's most dynamic regions - WABA - the Lebanese superstar became conspicuous. Only months earlier El Khatib had uncorked a champagne performance in the final of the 23rd FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Manila leading Al Riyadi Beirut to their maiden gold medal in the competition. Without him Lebanon looked the tiger without teeth at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

G for… Geethu Anna Jose

The Indian ace made the headlines early in the year by becoming the first player from this part of the world to try her hand at three WNBA teams, albeit in vain.

H for… Hur Jae

If there was anybody whose action spoke more than words, it was this head coach of the Korean national team at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship. Two years ago, Korea failed to make the semifinals of a FIBA Asia Championship for the first time in the history of competition under this former MVP, and the 46-year-old was determined to prove that was a minor aberration. And achieved it in grand style. With son Heo Hoon making a sparkling international debut at the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship, Hur Jae's name continued to roll.

I for… Park Intae

Could one single player make a singular difference to the prospects of a basketball game, that too only with his defense prowess? This 203-cm center proved so leading Korea past Philippines to victory in the semifinal of the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship and thus a ticket to the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship. Park had only two points in that game, after entering only in the second quarter. But his 8 blocks and 5 rebounds brought a different influence on the game.

J for… Jayvee Casio

The pocket-size powerhouse has a spirit that works indirectly proportional to his "mere" 177-cm height. The Smart Gilas product produced his most remarkable performance when the team needed it the most, sparking a scintillating run which put Philippines in the semifinals of a FIBA Asia Championship, for the first time in 24 years! Little wonder he was the No 1 pick when the PBA draft opened.

K for… Kawamura

There couldn't have been a more unquestionable choice in the All Stars at 26th FIBA Asia Championship than the Tochigi Brex guard. Scoring at the rate of 13.4 points per game, the 25-year-old brought Japan back into the top-eight of the FIBA Asia Championship and is a crucial piece in coach Tom Wisman's jigsaw, and his attempt to regain respectability to Japanese basketball.

L for… Yi Li

This 203-cm Jiangsu Dragons produced the most fleeting, and influential, moment of the year with his sparkling slam dunk in the closing moments of the gold medal game at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship, which not only left the 10,000-plus spectators spell-bound, but also took the winds off a fighting Jordan's sails. He was rightly termed by coach Bob Donewald as "China's secret weapon".

M for… Miao Lijie

There was no way I could have thought of any other name for a personally favorite letter. The manner in which the veteran of many a battle led, and is leading, China's fortunes in women's basketball for sure deserves more than a mere paragraph - probably another day. For now, let's recall her 13.5 points per game performance that gave her the MVP, put her in the All Star and most importantly took China to the gold medal at the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women.

Next week N - Z.

So long…

S Mageshwaran

FIBA Asia

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