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AMMAN — Jordan beat Syria twice 100-48 and 74-59 this week in their opening Group C/ Window 1 Asian qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
As Jordan grappled with a lineup revamp after missing many leading players at the Asian Cup, the squad was now carried by the return of veteran Ahmad Duweiri combining with new naturalized player Jalen Harris who led the team with an impressive record 42 points in Sunday’s match.
Harris scored 22 points in his first match, but in the second he stormed his way through rewriting FIBA qualifying records after he scored 42 points, including eight 3 pointers. The FIBA website noted Harris is now in the top five 3-point shots in a single game and owns the 9th-ever 40-point game in the history of the World Cup qualifiers, and the second-most points by a player in a World Cup qualifying game, just two from breaking the all-time record set by Korea’s Ra Guna (43 points) against Hong Kong, China back in 2018.
Ahmad Hamarsheh, 39, was honored for his long career and 100th match ahead of Window 2 which will be played Feb 26, 2026 to March 2, 2026 with Jordan set to meet Group leaders Iran who beat Iraq 86-71 and 94-68 this week.
The 16 Asian teams contesting the qualifiers are: Group A: Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and Guam; Group B: Japan China Korea and Chinese Taipei; Group D: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India and Qatar.
Overall, 80 national squads from the four FIBA regions are playing FIBA World Cup qualifiers in six windows from November 2025 to March 2027 following which 5 teams from Africa, 7 from the Americas, 7 from Asia, and 12 from Europe will advance to the 2027 World Cup in Doha, Qatar which is a direct qualifier for 7 national teams to the 2028 Olympic Games.
Jordan, now 38th in FIBA rankings and 8th in Asia, hopes to qualify to the World Cup for the third consecutive and fourth overall time after first qualifying in 2010.
Harris’s arrival was timely. Jordan’s last roster at the 31st FIBA Asia Cup 2025 failed to keep up the nation’s impressive record at the competition with key absences like Ahmad Duweiri, Rondae Jefferson, Amin Abu Hawas, Sami Bzai’ among others. Naturalised player Dar Tucker carried the team together with Hamarsheh, who were joined by newcomers like Abdullah and Abdulrahman Olajuwon - the sons of NBA legend Hakim. Tucker was the only player scoring an average of 20 points per game and helped carry the team surpassing 1000 points since he joined Jordan in 2016.
It was Jordan’s 17th time at the FIBA Asia Cup, and the team failed to reach the quarterfinals, finishing 11th among 16 competing nations., after previously, reaching the medals podium twice finishing runner-up in 2011 and 3rd in 2009. They were 4th in 2022.
Jordan’s Zeid Alkhas and naturalized Rasheim Wright are on the list of highest scoring averages in the tournament while Lebanon’s Fadi Khatib and Iran’s Hamed Haddadi lead the all-time top scorers, with Wright 7th.
In 2023, Jordan was Asian Games silver medalist, the best result for a team sport after qualifying to the FIBA World Cup in 2010, 2019 and 2023.
