Friday, August 6, 2010
Lebanon all excited and expectant for 3rd FIBA Stankovic Cup
Friday, August 06, 2010 | 
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zilljanmark
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zilljanmark
BEIRUT, Lebanon - That basketball is almost a religion in Lebanon is palpable, pronounced and prominent right from the time you land at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.The smile of the even-otherwise friendly official at the Passport Control is enhanced a couple of wattages higher, and the “Welcome to Lebanon” sounds that much more hearty and sincere, the moment she hears that the “purpose of your visit” is basketball.
The road on the about-one-odd hour drive from Beirut to the Ghazir Sporting Club, the venue for the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, is dotted with promotional mini-hoardings of the competition hanging on the mid-road signposts.
The 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup is the first ever FIBA Asia event for Men’s National Teams to be hosted by Lebanon. The ten-team, nine-day competition gets underway from Saturday.
The last time any FIBA Asia event was held in Lebanon was when Beirut hosted the 1999 and 2000 editions of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, Asia’s premier event for club teams.
And the last time the Lebanese National team played at home in an official competition was around the same period in the WABA Championship.
The euphoria and the expectant excitement that surrounds the event has even prompted the talismanic Fadi El Khatib to accelerate his return from an injury-break.
“I wouldn’t want to miss being on the court on such an important occasion,” El Khatib told this website after his first training session on returning from injury.
“It’s a matter of pride and excitement for everybody involved and interested in Lebanese basketball that Beirut is hosting such an important event. All the more reason for me to attempt a comeback into the team,” he said.
But such is the objective passion of the Lebanese basketball fan for the sport that he is ready to ‘sacrifice’ El Khatib’s presence on court for a “better performance from the team.”
Says long-time television presenter Grayyas Dibra: “Fadi is the biggest player in recent times, no doubt. But he is important only if he is contributing to the team.”
“Basketball fans in Lebanon are hungry to see some good action on the court. The heart is still with the Lebanese team to win the gold medal, but more importantly we all want to witness some real good action,” he told this correspondent.
“We are a basketball country,” asserts Fouad Abouchakra, the coach of Lebanese league champions Al Riyadi Beirut.
“Ten years is a long time for us to have hosted an official competition. Well, this is not the time to go into why we didn’t host for such a long time. We are thrilled the Lebanese fans will get to witness top action at home,” he says.
“It will bring the Lebanese people together,”proffered Ali Mahmoud, arguably the one of the better point guards to don the Lebanese colors.
“People have watched us only TV. Well, it’s not the same as watching us live,” Mahmoud said.
“As far as the players are concerned, it is very exciting to play in front of the home crowd,” he added.
Lebanon’s rise to power, and in rankings, in the scheme of things in FIBA Asia, in the last decade has been phenomenal.
Eleven years ago, when Lebanon entered the FIBA Asia competitions, it was brushed off by the traditional powers as ‘yet another nation’ entering the fray.
But that 1999 debut of the Lebanese men at Fukuoka proved to be the start of what in Asian basketball circles has come to be known as the ‘WABA Revolution.’
Lebanon forged ahead to enter the semifinals in all the five following FIBA Asia Championships – including winning three silver medals – and were the catalysts for the basketball movement in other West Asian nations like Iran and Jordan.
Thus in a matter of ten years, Lebanon have moved ahead from being merely ‘hopeful debutants’ to formidable ‘medal contenders.’
The performance of the team, and more importantly the popularity of the sport, earned them a wildcard entry to the 2010 FIBA World Championship to be played in Turkey later this month.
“Fans in Lebanon have watched the team play only on television,” says Dibra. “There was always a feeling of distance therefore.”
“The fans have always felt deprived of connecting with the team directly. With this event that longstanding wish of the fans will be served,” he says.
So much is the involvement of the fans that Baldwin had a tough time keeping his players from getting distracted to the followers on the stands even during a trainingsession.
“The fans want Lebanon to win this event. But I don’t think any of us want a lack in quality in competition to achieve that,” says Dibra.
“We want the Lebanese team win the gold medal, but more importantly we want them to play good basketball and then win,” he asserts.
And he was only reflecting the general, but passionate mood in Lebanon!
S Mageshwaran / FIBA Asia
source: fibaasia.net
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