MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - I have decided to start a new series here on my column, and I'll call it my Asian Legends Series featuring ten of the most influential Asian players from ten Asian countries.

In this first part, I'll highlight someone who, for true Asian basketball fans, needs no introduction. This man is none other than the Lebanese Tiger himself, Fadi El Khatib.

Born in the Chouf region of Lebanon, El Khatib first joined the country's professional ranks in 1997 as a 17-year-old. He signed a three-year contract with Club Sagesse Beirut (also known as Hekmeh BC), staying with them until 2004 before a one-year tenure with Syria's Al Ittihad and then returning to Sagesse in 2006.

El Khatib was one of the biggest reasons for Sagesse's rise in West Asian club basketball during the late 1990s and early 2000s. With the Lebanese Tiger leading the way, Sagesse won seven Lebanese Basketball Cups, two Arab Club titles, and three FIBA Asia Champions Cup crowns.

El Khatib's club career also saw him play for other top tier Lebanese squads like Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut, Champville SC, Amchit Club, and Homenetmen. Since 2017 and until now, El Khatib plays for Champville located in the country's Mount Lebanon Governorate.

The 6ft 6in/1.98m wingman also spent a couple of seasons as an import in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), playing for the Foshan Long Lions in 2015-2016 and with the Fujian Sturgeons in 2016-2017.

 
As good as El Khatib was in his professional career, however, it was really with the national team where he became an Asian basketball icon.

He made his debut for the Cedars' men's team in 1999 as Lebanon qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup, where they made the quarter-finals and finished 7th overall. Two years later at the Asia Cup 2001, El Khatib led Lebanon as they shocked the continent, beating the likes of Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea en route to their first second-place finish in Asia's showpiece event for national teams. El Khatib was named to that year's FIBA Asia All-Star Five together with compatriot Walid El Domiati.

That result qualified the Lebanese to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2002 in Indianapolis, Indiana, where, despite losing all five of their assignments, Lebanon still made quite the impression. In that tournament, El Khatib finished among the top ten scorers with an average of 17.6 points per game, joining the likes of Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, China's Yao Ming and Team USA's Paul Pierce.

El Khatib would miss the next Asia Cup in 2003 but return with aplomb in the 2005 edition held in Doha, Qatar. With three Asian berths in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2006 at stake, the Lebanese Tiger was at his best, averaging 23.0 points per game as the Cedars won all but two of their games, with both defeats at the hands of Yao Ming's China.

As Lebanon made their second straight trip to the FIBA Basketball World Cup, El Khatib wouldn't be satisfied going home with zero wins again, so he made sure the Cedars would break into the win column. Flashing fine form, El Khatib erupted for 35 points in Lebanon's opening victory over Venezuela, 82-72. They dropped their next two games to Argentina and Serbia & Montenegro, but those setbacks were quickly forgotten after one of Fadi's most memorable performances in their group game opposite France.

Even against the likes of Mickael Pietrus, Mickael Gelabale and Boris Diaw, El Khatib was unfazed, exploding for 29 points on 10-of-18 field goal shooting as the Cedars pulled the rug from under Les Bleus, 74-73. That triumph would go down as Lebanon's biggest on the world stage. They would, however, fall short of advancing to the Round of 16, eventually finishing 17th overall.

Riding high on the wave of their commendable FIBA Basketball World Cup performance, Lebanon would once again finish on the podium at the Asia Cup 2007 in Tokushima, Japan. It was the first Asia Cup to feature an all-West-Asia Final, with both Iran and Lebanon facing off for the top prize.

El Khatib was once again Lebanon's top weapon, averaging 28.4 points per game entering the titular tussle with Team Melli, but he would struggle against brothers Samad and Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami as well as Hamed Afagh. El Khatib shot just 5-of-14 from the field in the Final as Lebanon lost their best chance to capture Asian basketball's golden crown, 74-69. That loss prevented Lebanon from qualifying to the Beijing 2008 Olympics and would also be the last time they would make it as far as the Final in any Asia Cup.

El Khatib wanted redemption for Lebanon, and they got their chance at the FIBA Asia Cup 2009 in Tianjin, China. Though El Khatib was noticeably a step slower than usual, he still made an impact for the Cedars, averaging a respectable 13.4 points per game behind Lebanon's top two scorers and former NBA players Jackson Vroman and Matt Freije.

Lebanon's performance in 2009 was akin to a roller-coaster ride, with big wins over Qatar, Kazakhstan and Korea overshadowed by stinging losses to China and Jordan, which prevented them from qualifying outright to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010 in Turkey. Fortunately, Lebanon were granted a wildcard spot to the quadrennial basketball event, giving them a third straight World Cup appearance.

In what would be his last time to play at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, El Khatib reclaimed his place as Lebanon's #1 scorer, averaging 15.4 points per contest, highlighted by a 31-point masterpiece as the Cedars upset Canada, 81-71, on Day 1. The Lebanese would lose their remaining four assignments, though, and fall short of advancing past the group stage.

After 2010, El Khatib would not be seen wearing Lebanon's national team kit for several years. He missed the FIBA Asia Cup 2011 in Wuhan, Lebanon didn't play in the FIBA Asia Cup 2013 in Manila, and once more El Khatib wasn't part of Lebanon's national team at the FIBA Asia Cup 2015 in Changsha-Hunan.

It wasn't until 2017 when El Khatib would be seen by Asian basketball fans again on the Asia Cup stage. With Beirut, Lebanon hosting the then biennial competition, El Khatib, who was already 37 years old, made sure he would play for the Cedars one last time.

In front of his home fans, the Lebanese Tiger roared his loudest, scoring at least 16 points in each of Lebanon's games and helping them make it to the quarter-finals, where they lost to Iran, 80-70. El Khatib would not make it to the podium unlike the national team's golden years, but he was still perhaps the most celebrated figure at that Asia Cup. By the tournament's end, El Khatib had led all scorers with 25.9 points per game and was named to the All-Star Five one last time. It was a fitting farewell to one of the continent's true living legends.

Since then, El Khatib has retired from the national team, content to play in the Alfa Lebanese Basketball League for Champville. Already in his 40s, he continues to build on his iconic career, and though only a minor miracle will enable us to see him suit up for Lebanon anew, we will always remember El Khatib as the Lebanese Tiger who may not have defeated Father Time, but sure gave him one heck of a fight.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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