Powerhouse Jordan looms as Phl Gilas toughest rival

MANILA, Philippines - Jordan, which foiled Gilas Pilipinas’ FIBA-Asia finals aspiration the last time out, could again stand as the biggest stumbling block to the Filipinos’ bid for top seeding in their group in the preliminary round of the 27th edition of the Asian joust slated Aug. 1-11 at the MOA Arena in Pasay and Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Ranked No. 4 in the region, the Jordanians hope to further boost their stock with a new program under new foreign coach Vangilis Aleksandris.

Aleksandris and his team welcomed the result of the draw Thursday, saying they are ready to play whoever their opponents are.

“If we aim to do what we did two years ago, we need to win against the top teams. So who the opponent is doesn’t really matter for us,” said veteran point guard Wesam Al-Sous on fibaasia.net.

Gilas Pilipinas, as host, opted to be with Jordan, Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia in Group A in the first round of the prelims. The top three in this group will later advance to the second round against the top three from Group B composed of Japan, Lebanon, Qatar and Hong Kong.

“It’s a good draw. And we will try hard to keep the pride of Jordan. I’m sure more success will come for Jordan,” said assistant coach Yiannis Livano.

Aleksandris and Livano have just put together their training pool, looking to form a combination of veteran players and young, promising talents with hopes of booking a return stint to the FIBA world championship.

Under Portuguese coach Mario Palma, Jordan qualified for the 2010 world meet in Turkey after finishing third in the 2009 Asian tourney in Tianjin, China. Two years later in Wuhan, also in China, Jordan improved to second place under American mentor Tab Baldwin.

Still unsatisfied, the Jordanian cage federation tapped the Greek coaching tandem of Aleksandris and Livano.

“I’m proud of being the coach of Jordan. I will work towards success along with this great group of people around me,” said Aleksandris, who has a FIBA EuroCup title under his belt.

Aleksandris initially tapped 20 players for training in the Jordanian capital of Amman. They step up their buildup in a boot camp in Greece.

Their Greek training will be followed by a training-cum-competition program in Istanbul, including three friendly games against Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. Then the team competes in the Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei.

Veterans Zaid Abbas and Sam Daghles lead the cast that will feature a new naturalized player taking over from Rasheim Wright.

Other players still in the pool are Wesam Al-Sous, Ahmad Al Dwairi, Fadel Najjar, Mahmoud Abdeen, Ali Jamal, Mohammad Shaher, Fares Saqfalhait, Abdallah AbuQoura, Mohammad Hadrab, Ahmad Hamarsheh, Mousa Al-Aawadi, Majdi Al-Ghazawi, Mohammad Jamal, Khaldon Abu Ruqayah, Hani AlFaraj, Malek Khashan and Ibrahim Bassam.