The A-Z of FIBA Asia 2011… Part 2

KUALA LUMPUR (Mageshwaran’s AsiaScope) - Continuing where we left off last week, let’s proceed to the second and final set of our leading protagonists of FIBA Asia 2011.

N for… Nan Chen

China were confident, compact and composed in their campaign in the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women. There was no two ways about this. Yet when push came to shove it was this 1.97m that delivered the goods – the gold medal and subsequently a place in 2012 London Olympics. Her stats of 18.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game were good enough to take to the All Star line-up in FIBA Asia’s marquee event for women.

O for… Yuko Oga

A friend asked me: “Can you find a player for ‘O’”? My answer, and a confession: “This very idea of doing the A-Z came from this player who epitomises the letter”? The talismanic Japanese guard wept after losing to China in the Semi-Finals at the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women, but by then she had reassured her fans of her ability. That she made the All Stars was only a formality.

R for… Rasheim Wright

The Jordanian scoring machine had two moments – of diametrically opposite emotions – at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship. On one end was his stupendous performance of 21.7 points per game that had taken the Al Nashama to their first-ever FIBA Asia Championship gold medal game. On the other was his squandering of an ‘open’ shot in the final that might have booked their maiden appearance in the Olympics. Tough call to decide which will linger longer in our memories.

S for… Samad Bahrami

The Mahram forward came back from a debilitating ankle injury early in the year, showed his prowess in enough measure to merit awe-inspiring praises. Pity that he might end up as the best player not to win three successive FIBA Asia Championship medals. His making the All Stars at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship was a very small consolation.

T for… Toroman Rajko

Around two years ago, the Serbian – then basking in the glory of taking Iran to their maiden Olympic appearance – was handed a bunch young and talented collegians to form and formulate Philippines’ resurgence in international basketball. That target was more than achieved with the Smart Gilas under this genial and well-mannered coach ended a 24-year Semi-Final drought for the basketball-crazy nation. Not many hearts didn’t weep when Philippines finished without a medal, most of them for this coach.

V for… Veselin Matic

If Toroman was the binding force of the year, this Serbian, on the other hand, was an undoing factor for a championship-material team. If Iran didn’t finish with a medal at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship, Matic had a major share of the blame – much as he got a lot of the credit for Iran’s triumph at the 25th FIBA Asia Championship in Tianjin in 2009 – coming his way. I included him in my list exactly for what he did, as an example of ‘how not to overdo things”.

W for… Wang Zhizi

It’s almost like the time has stopped for this Bayi Rockets center to finish his job on the basketball court. He was the first Chinese to play in the NBA – as long back as 1999. Twelve summers later, the 32-year-old continues to be the lynchpin of the Chinese machine. As coach Bob Donewald put it: “The team is not complete without Wang’s presence.”

X for… Xirelijiang Mugedar

The 20-year-old stands exactly at the opposite end as Wang Zhizhi holding the promise of a stronger Chinese team for the future.

Y for… Yi Jianlian

Yao or Yi… This was my dilemma when I sat down to put a player to this letter. But Yi eventually clinched the place for two reasons. Firstly, Yi made the news for his performance on the court while Yao hit the headlines for deciding to move away from the court. Secondly, and more importantly, Yi emerged as the new leader of the Chinese medal-hunting party and showed to the rest of the world that there indeed was basketball in China beyond Yao. Of course, being named the MVP of FIBA Asia’s most important event helped.

Z for… Zhou Qi

This year-ender is also a foreteller for the future. If that is the premise, there is no better player for this letter. For, like most of us believe this Liaoning youngster – who is still only 15 y – holds the promise of going past many of his countrymen. We’ll for sure hear more of him in the New Year and many years to come.

There are some letters which I have missed – deliberately. For, this is not a compulsory attempt to find a player for each letter, but more a tribute to the players. Therefore, if a letter didn’t find a player, we can only say it’s the letter’s loss. We’ll wait another year to make up for this.

So long… And Happy New Year!

S Mageshwaran

FIBA Asia

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