Smart Gilas in the 2010 Asiad

[durden_tyler2]

assuming kwill and sol fits in with gilas, its going to be gold!

Yes they do provide a different flavor to the team--- curiously the weaknesses of this Gilas team, offensive rebounding and penetration. Hopefully, the chemistry can be worked out soon enough.

 

[THE11thROCK™2]

Kelly looks too buffed nowadays, saw him in his last game with TNT. I hope that blood disorder will not affect his fitness. His presence itself is a big boost to Gilas. As for Sol, he's a wicked guard just like a primed Caguioa. Nonetheless, those killer skills will not be helpful if he doesn't blend well with the Gilas system. You had a PBA MVP in Helterbrand in last FIBA Asia, but apparently he had issues strutting his stuff in Guiao's system. Chemistry is vital to the trio's contribution to the team.

 

[jologs2]

You've got a good point Sir Jay. It's my view of this as of the moment, given the history of cheating in regional competitions. I just find it absurd for GACOC to pit RP in a knockout match, though the 2006 absence could have played the factor. But I'm just playing the devil's advocate, since we know that it's better to win without even going to battle. Why face a dangerous RP squad when you can pluck them out even before you face them?

The good thing about this is that if your point that 'we are not under the radar' proves true, it would be a plus for Gilas being treated as underdogs. That way, top teams may not treat Gilas seriously. I think that it would be better to slay giants by surprise, than us receiving difficult opposition because they are well aware of Gilas' capabilities.

Maybe the organizers just wanted more spectators in the venue since its possible that ours can be the second most watched games in this tournament. Baka lang..

 

[interxavierxxx2]

Will Slaughter join the team? Are there any "Ateneo" barricades?

 

[THE11thROCK™2]

Maybe the organizers just wanted more spectators in the venue since its possible that ours can be the second most watched games in this tournament. Baka lang..

hahaha, good business. SRO every time RP plays

 

[weward2]

assuming kwill and sol fits in with gilas, its going to be gold!

and im wearing a golden smile right now because of this tweet from mr tiu.

charlestiu Charles Tiu
Love how sol mercado and kelly williams are fitting in with Gilas. They also r making d effort to attend the practces even if they dnt hv 2

the pba players are serious in helping the team..they attend practices even if they dont have to..just shows that they want to learn more of the system..maybe they dont want to be be there on the court come "pigaan" time.

 

[THE11thROCK™2]

Weward: Love how sol mercado and kelly williams are fitting in with Gilas. They also r making d effort to attend the practces even if they dnt hv 2

Great to hear that

 

[nardy2]

From what I've seen in the past, Saudi Arabia has hardly participated in any major Asian tournament. Most of the time, they pull out.

I do not think so this time, as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has warned that any National Olympic Committee (NOC) withdrawing after the draw has been made will be penalised financially.

This is the reason we withdrew our Discovery Womens Basketball Team Pilipinas because we are not sure if the team can comply with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) criteria for the team to win the Championship of the SEABA Championships in Manila on Oct. 24-29. And if the POC puts the RP women’s team in the draw, and eventually it fails to qualify, then they have to withdraw.

 

[Baller Jobe2]

If we go past KSA then we will really be in a tough group. All teams in the group are all competitive. In fact, we should not underestimate Afghanistan. They are winners of the South Asian Games and they are composed of North American players of Afghan descent. Quite formidable indeed so I don't expect blowouts in the group. Close games will most likely be the norm.

 

[joseph2]

and im wearing a golden smile right now because of this tweet from mr tiu.

charlestiu Charles Tiu
Love how sol mercado and kelly williams are fitting in with Gilas. They also r making d effort to attend the practces even if they dnt hv 2

the pba players are serious in helping the team..they attend practices even if they dont have to..just shows that they want to learn more of the system..maybe they dont want to be be there on the court come "pigaan" time.

well, I want to thank the PBA specially the commissioner for lending this 3 players and also their respective ballclubs. I hope this kind of PBA gesture will continue in the future. Thank you PBA for supporting SBP. I salute you PBA this time and I am calling all fans to continue supporting PBA coz the best crops are there.No matter what will be the outcome in Asiad, At least the PBA contributed to the request and I believe that many fans are really thankful to this action by the PBA. Once again, Mabuhay! PBA and SBP

 

[joseph2]

and im wearing a golden smile right now because of this tweet from mr tiu.

charlestiu Charles Tiu
Love how sol mercado and kelly williams are fitting in with Gilas. They also r making d effort to attend the practces even if they dnt hv 2

the pba players are serious in helping the team..they attend practices even if they dont have to..just shows that they want to learn more of the system..maybe they dont want to be be there on the court come "pigaan" time.

I also want to thank all the congressman who supported the naturalization bill for Douthit. I am glad that there are people who knows the reality in asian basketball rather than those hardliners who are either 20 years behind in reality or just just too ignorant when it comes to sports. I salute all these congressmen who passes the bill and I am praying that majority of our senate do so. For the sake of our Flag and Country, Lets Us Unite! Go! Go! Go! Philippines

 

[nardy2]

If we go past KSA then we will really be in a tough group. All teams in the group are all competitive. In fact, we should not underestimate Afghanistan. They are winners of the South Asian Games and they are composed of North American players of Afghan descent. Quite formidable indeed so I don't expect blowouts in the group. Close games will most likely be the norm.

Afganistan National Team 2010
- Sep 30, 2010 (by Mamo Rafiq)

4 Yousof Etemadi 195-G/F Cal Poly - Pomona, CA

5 Nafi Mashriqi 201-F/C NYC Thunder, ABA

6 Qais Haider 193-F Afghanistan NT

7 Billal Azizi 198-F/C Vanguard University, CA

8 Mostafa Asefi 186-G Columbia College, CA

9 Habib Kabir 198-F/C Afghanistan NT

10 Abdullah Karimi 183-G Bethany College, KS

11 Haroun Arefi 193-G/F Afghanistan NT

12 Ali Noorzad 193-G Afghanistan NT

13 Safi Mojaddidi 183-G Afghanistan NT

14 Ahmad Shekeb 183-G Afghanistan NT

15 Sayed Amiri 196-F Afghanistan NT

Mamo Rafiq Head Coach

Qayed Shareef Assistant Afghanistan NT

Kamran Sufi Assistant Afghanistan NT

Former Bengal Mamo Rafiq Coaches Afghanistan to First Ever Basketball Gold Medal
- Sep 23, 2010 (by Mamo Rafiq)

Former Idaho State Bengal Mamo Rafiq has coached the Afghanistan National basketball Team since 2007, and he recently helped establish a first for his native country, as Afghanistan won the 2010 11th Annual South Asian Games, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Gold Medal is the first ever in the history of Afghanistan Team Sports.

Team Afghanistan won all three of their preliminary round games, winning over Pakistan 86-68, Sri Lanka 95-64, and over India in overtime 77-74. The team then easily won their semifinal game 107-34 over Nepal before taking on India again in a rematch for the title. Afghanistan then beat India, currently ranked #49 in the latest FIBA rankings, 65-64 to win their first ever gold medal in a team competition.

The team is sponsored by the Marshall Legacy Institute, which is working towards removing landmines in Afghanistan. Rafiq said of the experience, 'Winning the first gold medal in Afghanistan's history in a team sport is a tremendous honor. We are extremely thankful to our team sponsor, The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) for supporting our team and our country. Representing Afghanistan and the efforts of MLI who is attempting to remove landmines from our worn-torn country has been a dream come true on and off the court. It's a great accomplishment to share good news about Afghanistan with the world'

Rafiq played at Idaho State from 2000-02 before transferring to UC Davis to be closer to his family. He later returned to Idaho State and worked in ISU's academic services department. In 2001-02, he was the only Afghan native playing Division I basketball, and after the 9/11 attacks he was the subject of a special ESPN report that aired on Christmas Day in 2001, chronicling his life in Pocatello, and the adjustments he had to make after September 11.

Always a well liked player and a crowd favorite, Rafiq became the head coach of the Afghanistan National Basketball Team, a member of the Afghan Sports Federation, in 2007.

Courtesy of Isubengals.com

 

[manu_bol2]

saudi was like the original "qatar"

if i remember coreectly, they had some african looking NT players in the 90s.

i think they also beat the mighty chinese NT in the 90s.

 

[nardy2]

saudi was like the original "qatar"

if i remember coreectly, they had some african looking NT players in the 90s.

i think they also beat the mighty chinese NT in the 90s.

Yup they did have a strong team then but there was no follow-up "African Recruitment" and those players soon aged.

Well yea KSA were in the top 5 list but the level was so weak, I mean China who was always dominating was nothing internationally but when the Asian Level started to rise with China, Lebanon and Iran starting to have good results and China gone so far in every international tournament, KSA totally vanished from Asian Basketball.

I agree Ahmad but KSA had some descent bball players back then and their federation used to care about basketball. Some names that come to mind are Ali Moghrabi, Adel Al Johani, Nader Al Muwalid, Turky Al Turky, Khaled Fallatah.....

I don't know if u remember but it was Ittihad Jeddah that first brought Joe Vogel to the Middle East back in 1999 in the ABC Championship that was played in Lebanon when Sagesse won it over Liaoning from China and Vogel played so well and was so impressive that Sagesse signed him for the 1999-2000 season (u know the rest of his story )

After that these guys got old and no one cared about basketball in KSA anymore. Of course the other countries especially Lebanon, Iran, China and even Qatar improved alot over those years so that made it worse on KSA basketball.

​

Am not that sure, but I read somewhere that they tried to convince God Shammgodto be naturalized.

 

[joseph2]

Yup they did have a strong team then but there was no follow-up "African Recruitment" and those players soon aged.

​

​

Am not that sure, but I read somewhere that they tried to convince God Shammgodto be naturalized.

watch out for Iraq and Afghanistan basketball in the coming years

 

[THE11thROCK™2]

watch out for Iraq and Afghanistan basketball in the coming years

Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan may become basketball powers in Asia given their gene pool of tall people like Jordan and Iran. The main issue with these countries is the interest in basketball as a nation, much like Saudi. Without nationwide popular support, they may all remain stagnant. India is a terrifying basketball territory given the numerous giants that they have in the country, but basketball doesn't ring a bell there. Cricket is more realistic. Afghans are more busy in Buzkashi compared to cricket and football, basketball is a rising sport but hardly gets the needed attention.

I see Singapore as a more potent future threat to the Philippines, given that they have the funds and a rising support for basketball. The Singapore Slingers can contribute heavily in forming a potent basketball program. They can even naturalize their club players much like the Qatari Visa express. And that busy city houses a breed of Chinese, Indian and Caucasian mixed race. Philippines has been a terror in SE Asia for the longest time, but we may find a good rival in our own region in the very near future.

As for this upcoming Asiad, if there are mideast teams that is a definite threat, it is Jordan and Iran. Both these squads lost to Smart Gilas in several recent occasions and may wish to redeem themselves. China and Korea are still heavy favorites. Qatar, Japan and Taipei though not as strong, could be the kryptonites of Gilas. They say in boxing that styles make fights. And those three are the antagonists of Gilas system. However, Sol and Williams are new additions that can make a big difference come game time.

 

[facaed20102]

Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan may become basketball powers in Asia given their gene pool of tall people like Jordan and Iran. The main issue with these countries is the interest in basketball as a nation, much like Saudi. Without nationwide popular support, they may all remain stagnant. India is a terrifying basketball territory given the numerous giants that they have in the country, but basketball doesn't ring a bell there. Cricket is more realistic. Afghans are more busy in Buzkashi compared to cricket and football, basketball is a rising sport but hardly gets the needed attention.

I see Singapore as a more potent future threat to the Philippines, given that they have the funds and a rising support for basketball. The Singapore Slingers can contribute heavily in forming a potent basketball program. They can even naturalize their club players much like the Qatari Visa express. And that busy city houses a breed of Chinese, Indian and Caucasian mixed race. Philippines has been a terror in SE Asia for the longest time, but we may find a good rival in our own region in the very near future.

As for this upcoming Asiad, if there are mideast teams that is a definite threat, it is Jordan and Iran. Both these squads lost to Smart Gilas in several recent occasions and may wish to redeem themselves. China and Korea are still heavy favorites. Qatar, Japan and Taipei though not as strong, could be the kryptonites of Gilas. They say in boxing that styles make fights. And those three are the antagonists of Gilas system. However, Sol and Williams are new additions that can make a big difference come game time.

35 days to go and counting.....

Sir, in your own view, how far our NT (Smart Gilas) will be this coming ASIAD?

For me, I think they will be in top 4 if they will defeat KSA...

 

[Silent Killer2]

RP is bracketed with Saudi Arabia in Asian games

Basketball

Men

(Preliminary: 1st Round)

Group A
Hong Kong
Kuwait
North Korea

Group B
Philippines (Smart Gilas Pilipinas)
Saudi Arabia

Group C
Turkmenistan
Mongolia

Group D
India
Afghanistan

(Preliminary: 2nd Round)

Group E
China
South Korea
Uzbekistan
Jordan
A1 (Hong Kong-Kuwait-North Korea Winner)
C1 (Turkmenistan vs. Mongolia Winner)

Group F
Chinese Taipei
Japan
Qatar
Iran
B1 (Philippines vs. Saudi Arabia Winner)
D1 (India vs. Afghanistan Winner)

 

[nardy2]

If the 6 injured "Qataris" are not yet ready on time of the Asian Games, the team going to the Asian Games is the one which beat Talk N Text last September:

 

[Silent Killer2]

If the 6 injured "Qataris" are not yet ready on time of the Asian Games, the team going to the Asian Games is the one which beat Talk N Text last September:

for the 1st time in years that qatar national team wont copy any NBA jerseys. they copy the heat and cavaliers jersey in recent years.