Iran, Lebanon teams to beat in FIBA-Asia

DOHA, Qatar – Al Rayyan coach Carl Nash considers Mahram of Iran and Al Riyadi of Lebanon as the teams to beat in the 21st FIBA-Asia Champions Cup unfolding Saturday at the Al-Gharafa Stadium in this oil-rich Arab nation.

But Nash was quick to point out that any team here can beat any team at any given time.

“Everyone talks about Mahram and Al Riyadi and I do believe they are very strong,” said Nash, who will coach the Qataris for the first time in this nine-day import-laden tournament participated in by some of the best club teams in the region.

“But if your team is playing in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup, there’s a reason for that – they must be good. I think everyone is good and anyone can beat anyone on a given night,” Nash added.

He didn’t discount the chances of Smart Gilas Pilipinas.

While the Filipinos are bringing in only one import in six-foot-10 Serbian Milan Vucicevic, the Qataris and the other teams are all fielding two each -- the maximum number of reinforcements allowed.

Al Rayyan listed as imports seven-foot behemoth Michael Fey and prolific guard Craig Winder.

Fey, once considered for naturalization by Smart Gilas, is a former UCLA star while Winder suited up for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBDL where he averaged 16 points, 5.4 rebounds and two assists.

Aside from the Americans, Al Rayyan will parade naturalized players Yaseen Ismail Musa, Mohamed Salem, Malek Salem and Erfan Saeed.

Smart Gilas, meanwhile, is composed of Vucicevic, Filipino-American Chris Lutz, Mark Barroca, RJ Jazul, Chris Tiu, Dylan Ababou, Rey Guevarra, Mac Baracael, Aldrech Ramos, Japeth Aguilar, Jason Ballesteros and Greg Slaughter.

“We have a lot of players nursing injuries,” said RP’s Serbian coach Rajko Toroman. “It will not be easy, but we will aim to make it to the semifinals.”

With Filipino workers here likely to pack the venue, the Nationals promise to come out strong in each game in a bid to improve their fifth-place finish in the last Champions Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Nationals drew boost on the enthusiastic support of Filipino workers in United Arab Emirates as they finished a strong third in the recent import-laced Dubai Invitational despite playing practically import-less.

And Toroman believes Smart Gilas’ virtual “sixth man” will also spell the difference here.

“The crowd support will be very vital because they give us the inspiration to play a level higher,” said Toroman.

Smart Gilas clashes with the Astana Tigers of Kazakhstan on Monday and defending champion Mahram of Iran on Tuesday before taking on Duhok of Iraq Wednesday to complete its Group A assignments.

In the other group, Al Riyadi of Lebanon, ASU of Jordan and Al Jalaa of Syria are the favorites even as Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Al Nasr of United Arab Emirates are considered dangerous.

The top four teams in each bracket advance to the crossover quarterfinals where the survivors meet in the semifinals.

Reigning champion Mahram of Iran will parade six-foot-10 Jackson Vroman, loaned from Lebanon where he is a naturalized player, for the second straight year and fellow NBA veteran Loren Woods.

CJ Giles, the former Smart Gilas import who owns a superb vertical leap and an enormous wingspan, and former San Miguel import Nate Johnson will banner Al Riyadi of Lebanon, which topped the Arab Club Championships and finished second in the Dubai tournament ruled by Mahram.

Asu of Jordan acquired NBA veteran Oyedeji Olumide, an athletic 6-foot-10 banger who won several slam dunk contests and played pro ball in Russia, Germany, Greece, Kuwait, Puerto Rico, South Korea and China.

Teaming up with Olumide, the second-round draft choice of the Seattle SuperSonics in 2000, for the Jordan team is 6-foot-8 forward James Williams from Brown Mackie.

Duhok of Iraq will have 7-foot-4 center Priest Lauderdale and 5-foot-11 guard Calvin Cage as imports.