Last spot in WBC'10: Lebanon or Dominican Republic?

[sinobball2]

Now that 20 of 24 teams have been finalized, it comes down to the 4 wild cards that need to be determined.

Guidelines:
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/10.../p/openNodeIDs/8962/selNodeID/8962/index.html

Three are no-brainers: Russia, Lithuania and Germany.

The 4th one will be either Dominican Republic or Lebanon IMO, since most of Africa neither enjoys "basketball popularity" nor "economics".

Who do you pick and why?

I pick Lebanon because they had been there before (2002 and 2006), are consistent (always top 4 in Asia since 2001), was there in 2007 Olympic Qualifier and had some nice games in 2006. Whereas Dominican Republic never had this consistency and never were in the big stage in recent memories. Although they may be better with their NBA players, it's not always clear if their NBA players will play for them.

PS: I'm sure this has been explained before, but can someone clarify again how Charlie Villaneuva who played for USA U20 team in 2004, is eligible to play for DR?

 

[daniab2]

I'll pick Lebanon my beloved country for sure.

My reasons:
1-Lebanon faced wrong whistle in the semi finals of Asian Championship,if it wasn't abt that, we would've been now in the Fiba World Championship.
2-Lebanon was the reason for all the basketball developpement in the West Asian and Arab region,it deserves some attention from Fiba.
3-Lebanon had good results in the Fiba tournament,beating France and Venuzuela + participating in the Fiba U19 Championship two years ago.
4-Basketball is number one sport in Lebanon and it has a big fanbase and very active in all countries
5-We are ranked higher than Dominican Rep.

Hope Fiba would be fair with their choice!

 

[Buran2]

The criteria for picking wild card teams is very subjective. FIBA should have a tournament for the remaining teams for the next world championship.
Having said that, I would like to see Lebanon get the wild card.

my guess is that business would be the most important criterion for FIBA and the last two criteria would carry a lot of weight! these are:
"# Importance of the country to FIBA's marketing and television partners
# Importance of the country to the Organizers of the FIBA World Championship"

 

[karim2]

lebanon should be picked not cuz of the last whistle on fahd , the play before where we tied it with 2 free throws for vroman there was no foul on vroman so every lebanese should just cancel these 2 last plays and pretend neither happened and the same outcome would have happened which is leb being down by 2 before beshara took that unexplainable 3 pt shot....leb should be picked cuz after the 3 euro teams the rest of the teams are simply worse than leb and have much less achievements and not a big fan i have a feeling leb will have the 2nd largest fans in the court this tournament right after turkey , personly im gonna go watch the games in the court if they do qualify so this is important but FIBA does see DR has the better team maybe and they probably are if they get all 3 NBA stars again(if garcia is cleared to play by the kings) but recent history of success should be more important and bringing in DR is not good for FIBA ...small country and bball is not even their 1st sport so i cant imagine many fans especially fans who will go to the court ....i wonder if croatia beat russia yesterday would they still take 3 euro teams or is croatia not all that good ?

 

[RAWAD2]

Sporting Aspects

1-Popularity of basketball in the country
2-Quality and sporting results of the country's national team
3-Quality of work by the National Federation

Economic Aspects

1-Involvement of local television station(s) and/or competition(s) in domestic and international basketball
2-Importance of the country to FIBA's marketing and television partners
3-Importance of the country to the Organizers of the FIBA World Championship

If we take these criteria, then Lebanon will take the wild card with no doubt.

Sporting Aspects

1- Basketball is the most popular game in Lebanon, You can find a basket behind every house. Kids are obsessed by their stars and their teams.
2-Quality of Basketball in Lebanon relatively to Asian teams:
- Since 2001, Lebanon is the only team that has not missed any semifinal, with three 2nd places, and two 4th places, and two world championship qualifications.
- Lebanon participated Fiba 2002, and Fiba 2006, and pre olympics 2007. In 2006, Lebanon won over Venezuela and France, knowing that the team was much weaker than the current team.
3-The lebanese federation is rated A, and it is the highest achievable rating.


Economic Aspects

1- The local TVs are fully commited to the national league and regional and international competitions.
2- The TV partners and FIBA will benefit to the maximum from Lebanon's participation. Lebanon will be an additional representative to the most populated continent, and for the Middle east and Arab world. Since Basketball is the first sport in Lebanon, the Marketing tools will face less barriers in order to be spread out in the country.
3- Lebanon's participation will be very very important to Turkey since Lebanon is 140 km far from the Turkish Borders, so in a Lebanon game, you can expect a sold out game. The lebanese fans might be more than any team in the WC2010.


After going over these points, and showing the strenghts of Lebanon, I ask my Dominican friends to post such an analysis to compare both countries chances.

I hope that Lebanon will get the wild card because we deserve it.

 

[Oshafaamri2]

Well I admit that these teams will get the Wild Cards for sure :
* Lithuania
* Russia
* Germany
* Dominican Rep.

I guess that FIBA will chose DR as we know they did not participate since 31 years so to bring Basketball Life there Again + having 4 NBA players at least and the Commercial may come of their participation + Honestly they are better than Both African and Asian Teams including Angola and China

It's my opinion or Guess by the way

 

[RAWAD2]

Well I admit that these teams will get the Wild Cards for sure :
* Lithuania
* Russia
* Germany
* Dominican Rep.

I guess that FIBA will chose DR as we know they did not participate since 31 years so to bring Basketball Life there Again + having 4 NBA players at least and the Commercial may come of their participation + Honestly they are better than Both African and Asian Teams including Angola and China

It's my opinion or Guess by the way

Hayda min ghirtak (That is because ur Jealous) If we were in ur shoes, we would pick Jordan..... They said Arab Brothers!!! HUH

 

[Oshafaamri2]

Hayda min ghirtak (That is because ur Jealous) If we were in ur shoes, we would pick Jordan..... They said Arab Brothers!!! HUH

Why are you so Rude !!???
am saying my opinion and expectation ..... that will happen

keep sympathy away a little bit , it's reality and the reality in my opinion says that !!!!
btw why would I be jealous !!!

+ Ma jebet seeret Lebanon bel A9el (Who talked about Lebanon btw) !!!

 

[daniab2]

Please don't turn this thread into fights.
Everyone is free to express his opinion weither its with or against Lebanon!
Anyway Lebanon absolutely deserve an attention from Fiba,this country provide a lot of success for the west Asian region,most of the neighbor countries started working after Lebanon going internationally.

 

[RAWAD2]

Why are you so Rude !!???
am saying my opinion and expectation ..... that will happen

keep sympathy away a little bit , it's reality and the reality in my opinion says that !!!!
btw why would I be jealous !!!

+ Ma jebet seeret Lebanon bel A9el (Who talked about Lebanon btw) !!!

I will express my opinion.

Jordan doesn't deserve to be in the world cup. They killed their league, their prospects in order to go there......

Btw did anyone notice how Jordanese have become the new Asian arrogant.....??????

 

[Oshafaamri2]

I will express my opinion.

Jordan doesn't deserve to be in the world cup. They killed their league, their prospects in order to go there......

Btw did anyone notice how Jordanese have become the new Asian arrogant.....??????

I Respect your Opinion
You can Say Whatever You See Right

 

[WIZARD2]

I will express my opinion.

Jordan doesn't deserve to be in the world cup. They killed their league, their prospects in order to go there......

Btw did anyone notice how Jordanese have become the new Asian arrogant.....??????

lool at expressing your opinion ,,seriously what the heck is this??this is not an opinion! Jordan doesnt deserve WC cuz we killed our league!!! can't u come up with something better??? what does our league have to do with your failure reaching the WC??and if we dont deserve it who does?? lebanon?
anyway enough already with this crap u guys have been flooding this forum ever since u lost to china with gazillion posts talking about that u deserve the wild card and no other team on our planet deserves it more than lebanon!!
u guys are making fun of yourselves just stop it already....as for arrogance lebanese ppl are the last to talk about arrogance..its not just about basketball
its something in ur blood..ur arrogant about everything which i dont understand why...we jordanians arent arrogant actually other than me and omarshamri there are no jordanians here so where did u come up with this nonsense?

 

[daniab2]

lool at expressing your opinion ,,seriously what the heck is this??this is not an opinion! Jordan doesnt deserve WC cuz we killed our league!!! can't u come up with something better??? what does our league have to do with your failure reaching the WC??and if we dont deserve it who does?? lebanon?
anyway enough already with this crap u guys have been flooding this forum ever since u lost to china with gazillion posts talking about that u deserve the wild card and no other team on our planet deserves it more than lebanon!!
u guys are making fun of yourselves just stop it already....as for arrogance lebanese ppl are the last to talk about arrogance..its not just about basketball
its something in ur blood..ur arrogant about everything which i dont understand why...we jordanians arent arrogant actually other than me and omarshamri there are no jordanians here so where did u come up with this nonsense?

tawele belak!
one post from one member doesnt mean u can start a war or even insult my country.
Please Rawad take it easy bro and let us enjoy our discussion here.

 

[WIZARD2]

tawele belak!
one post from one member doesnt mean u can start a war or even insult my country.
Please Rawad take it easy bro and let us enjoy our discussion here.

lol its ok it was just an opinion after all heheh...

 

[daniab2]

lol its ok it was just an opinion after all heheh...

ok, back to topic guys.
Please respect everyone's opinion whatever it is.

Thank you!

 

[Oshafaamri2]

lool at expressing your opinion ,,seriously what the heck is this??this is not an opinion! Jordan doesnt deserve WC cuz we killed our league!!! can't u come up with something better??? what does our league have to do with your failure reaching the WC??and if we dont deserve it who does?? lebanon?
anyway enough already with this crap u guys have been flooding this forum ever since u lost to china with gazillion posts talking about that u deserve the wild card and no other team on our planet deserves it more than lebanon!!
u guys are making fun of yourselves just stop it already....as for arrogance lebanese ppl are the last to talk about arrogance..its not just about basketball
its something in ur blood..ur arrogant about everything which i dont understand why...we jordanians arent arrogant actually other than me and omarshamri there are no jordanians here so where did u come up with this nonsense?

Lol
My Name is Omar shafaamri not Shamri
Your Post Just Hit the Target

 

[Dtown2]

In terms of teams, I believe DR and Lebanon are close to the same level. So it will come down to the intangibles. Note, while I don't think their odds are as good as these two I would not dismiss Nigeria offhand. They have the better ranking, and had the better 2006 WC.

Advantages for the Dominican
FIBA Americas is fighting for them: While the teams are close their organizations are not. The Americas are considered just behind Europe, and they have pull. They got 6 teams last WC, they'll have a case for it again.

Loose association with the NBA: With three, perhaps four players signing on for next year they might convince FIBA officials they'll have a more competitive team.

Advantages for Lebanon
History: Lebanon made the previous two world championships without the aid of a wild card, and while they didn't make the knockout stage they were quite competitive.

Fanbase: The Dominican has a bigger and more loyal fanbase than what is displayed here. However Lebanon's fanbase has shown that they travel well, and with the WC in Turkey they are more likely to attend than Dominican's if solely on logistics.

Advancing the game: The WC is a great opportunity to advance the game in west asia, I think everyone agrees on that. With Jordan, and Iran competing in their first WC the addition of Lebanon could only add to the aspect.

Going with these I'll say Lebanon will get the last spot. If I gave odds I'd say
Lebanon 45%
Dominican Republic 40%
Nigeria 15%

 

[eliooo932]

DR : 55%. (The NBA players make them a better team)
Lebanon : 40%. (good results since 2001, close to turkey, good fanbase)
Nigeria : 5%. (Bad results in FibaAfrica this year but still ranked 22nd).

 

[karim2]

yes D town but asia also had 4 teams as we stand now asia has only 3 teams and as stong as europe is , it might end up picking just 2 teams cuz they are already 7 and in the end this is a WORLD champ not a euro champ ...in 2006 it was 9 from euro , 6 from americas , 4 from asia , 3 from africa and 2 from oceania ....if they want to follow this format than 2 euro teams will be picked + 1 from asia and 1 from americas ....i would go crazy if they pick south korea or qatar(their president who is also president of asia would pay money or something) cuz other than the fact that leb is a very small country which gives the wrong idea that we might not have good marketing for bball or that we dont have much fans , we also arent as powerful(rich) as other countries like south korea,japan and qatar cuz as u know nowadays money is power ......

 

[cardenales2]

I will take Lebanon over Dominican Republic because of what Lebanon have accomplished in this decade. Plus Basketball is number one sport in Lebanon not the same in DR were Baseball is number one. In Turkey, I know im going to see more support of Lebanon of lebanese tourist supporting their team than dominican tourist supporting the team. Even Nigeria deserve it more than Dominican Republic. Nigeria was part in the 2006 World Cup and they have a good participation. They also were in the 1998 World Championships. So this two countries have more history than the Dominican Republic in the big stage.