Jordan eyes Asian Games after last place finish at FIBA World Cup 2023

AMMAN — Jordan’s national basketball team headed to China for a training camp ahead of the upcoming 19th Asian Games, after ending participation at the 19th FIBA World Cup, where they finished last on the  32nd place.

At the upcoming Asian Games set for September 23 — October 8 in Hangzhou, China, Jordan was drawn to play in Group C  alongside Thailand, Bahrain and the Philippines and officials and fans hope the lineup can jump back and obtain an advanced placement at the Games after failing to score a single win,  at the globe’s premier basketball event —  co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

The World Cup, currently under way saw Jordan playingin a tough Group C losing to Greece 92-71, New Zealand 95-87 after the match went into overtime.And five time champs, the United States 110-62.In the classification round for 17-32nd spots, Jordan lost to Egypt 85-69 and to Mexico 93-80 after alternating the lead throughout most of the match.

Team star Ahmad Duwairi , who has been playing professionally abroad, told the post-match press conference, Jordan’s lineup lacked the competitive experience in the closing minutes of all matches.“It is the responsibility of all clubs to focus on players to have a stronger league, that will produce a competitive national team,” Duwairi said.

Meanwhile, head coach Wisam Al Sous who has come under fire for his choice of lineup and assistants acknowledged there were mistakes, but said he was proud of the effort of the squad. “We gave it our  best but luck was not on our side at crucial moments,” he said, adding that Jordan’s naturalised pro Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was “the right fit for team, and that there will be even better chemistry with the team to serve the nation’s team  further in years to come”.

The FIBA World Cup serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where the top two teams from each of the Americas and Europe, and the top team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania, qualify alongside the tournament’s host France.

The top two teams of each group qualified for the Round 2, while the bottom two teams played in the Classification Round for 17-32 places. Round 2 saw the top two seeds from the Round 1 groups converge and face one another in four groups of four teams, with the top two teams sealing their place in the quarterfinals and the bottom two teams competing in the Classification Round 9-17.

The quarterfinals will tip off on September 5, with Germany vs Latvia,Lithuania vs Serbia, Italy vs USA, Canada vs Slovenia advancing winners to the semifinals on September 8, before the two winners play the final on September 10.Classification Round 5-8 games will also be held in between the stretch.

Arab teams at the World Cup also included,South Sudan  who qualified to the Round of 16 finishing 17th and moved to the 2024 summer Olympic. Egypt finished 20th and Lebanon finished 23rd and both will play the Olympic qualifying tournament. 

Since 1950 , only the US and Brazil have played at all past editions. The former Yugoslavia and the US are record five time champions of the “Naismith Trophy” awarded to the FIBA World Cup champ and named in honor of basketball’s inventor. The Soviet Union won 3 times, Brazil and Spain twice each and Argentina once.

Jordan has reached the FIBA Asia Cup 16 times, with the best showing runner-up in 2011. third in 2009 and fourth in 2022.