2011 PAN ARAB GAMES - QATAR (9-23 December)

[tmlouk]

MEN TOURNAMENT

Group A

Sudan
Iraq
Egypt
Algeria

Group B

Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Qatar
Palestine

Group C

Lebanon
Tunisia
Morocco
Jordan


WOMEN TOURNAMENT

Group A

Lebanon
Somalia
Qatar
Kuwait

Group B

Egypt
Syria
Jordan
Tunisia

[mavrick_h]

MEN TOURNAMENT

Group A

Sudan
Iraq
Egypt
Algeria

Group B

Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Qatar
Palestine

Group C

Lebanon
Tunisia
Morocco
Jordan


WOMEN TOURNAMENT

Group A

Lebanon
Somalia
Qatar
Kuwait

Group B

Egypt
Syria
Jordan
Tunisia

another funny draw

[Jalaa_Syria]

MEN TOURNAMENT



WOMEN TOURNAMENT

Group B

Egypt
Syria
Jordan
Tunisia

Syria withdrew from the games.

[daniab]

Lebanese will seek gold in Doha
December 03, 2011 03:21 AM
By Dany Abboud
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The Lebanese national basketball team will be seeking gold when they compete in the Pan Arab Games which will be hosted by Doha from Dec. 9-23, in their first appearance since their worst performance in 11 years– a 6th place finish – in the FIBA Asia championship last summer in Wuhan.

Some may question how important this international tournament is considering how exciting the local basketball season has been. Regardless of whether a win in the tournament will be considered a strong victory or not the Lebanese have made their goals for the tournament crystal clear. They intend to win.

It is unlikely that a strong showing in this tournament will make up for the not-so-strong showing in China.

Tunisia, who are African champions, and Morocco are bringing their second teams in. Moreover, the Pan Arab is not affiliated with FIBA.

The winners of this tournament will not qualify for any big tournaments, so, much like the other national teams taking part in the tournament, it is a chance for young players to be tested.

Lebanese coach Ghassan Sarkis seemed to agree with this assessment when he said, “I did not want to participate with the best possible team, but there was a different decision from the minister.

“They [the Sport Ministry] expressed their interest in winning the gold to the basketball federation, and we couldn’t do anything about it,” added Sarkis.

Ironically, basketball is the only team sport in which Lebanon is represented in Arab games, in both the male and female divisions. Therefore, this move is widely seen as a chance to take home more medals considering Lebanon’s proficiency at basketball.

But on the bright side, The Cedars will welcome back team captain and legend Fadi al-Khatib beside starting point guard Ali Mahmoud after their absence during the last Asian Championships, due to fatigue and accumulative injuries.

However, the lineup remained almost the same since last summer except for a few modifications. The current squad consists of: Fadi al-Khatib, Mahmoud, Rodrigue Akl, Miguel Martinez, Mohammad Ibrahim, Hussein al-Khatib, Elie Stephan, Jean Abdul-Nour, Bassel Bawji, Ali Kanaan, Nadim Hawi and naturalized American Sam Hoskin.

But the most attractive addition to the lineup is the inclusion of 24-year-old shooting guard Hussein al-Khatib, who is currently having a great season with Hoops Club.

“I’m looking forward to this unique opportunity, every player dreams of representing his national team and I’m lucky enough to get this chance” said al Khatib junior, who is the cousin of Fadi.

“No player in Lebanon is to be compared to him [Fadi al-Khatib], with all my respect and love to all my colleagues and teammates, he is the best Arab and Asian player [right now],” said Hussein.

“We are going there [Doha] to win the Gold and nothing else, the tournament is strong, there are teams like Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, but with the return of Fadi, I think the team is in great situation.

“I’ve faced many problems during the past five years, and I once decided to retire, but always there was this feeling that I still have to offer and here I am now, a national player” he said with audible joy in his voice.

However, the national team has not prepared heavily for this tournament, as the first half of the local league finished just a few days ago and the top two seeded teams, Champville and Riyadi, are currently playing in a friendly tournament in Dubai.

What could the situation be if Lebanon fails to win the gold?

Although, Lebanon’s chances of winning the tournament are significant, with other favorites such as Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco playing with depleted rosters. This setup leaves Lebanon and Qatar as favorites to take the tournament. However, there is nothing guaranteed, knowing that players would slow their pace on the floor to avoid any possible injuries.

“We had no time to practice, but with the presence of our experienced players, we hope to make the fans happy” said Sarkis, adding, “I know nothing about the future, I promised all the Lebanese to qualify for the World Championship 2014 and I’m still on my word, but there should be a plan from the federation which is not the case right now.”

Lebanon was drawn in Group B, alongside Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan. While Group A, includes Egypt, Algeria, Iraq and Sudan, and Group C includes Qatar, Kuwait, KSA and Palestine.

It’s worth noting that the gold finalists will be awarded 100,000$ divided between the local federation and the Olympic committee, while silver finalists will win $60,000 and bronze finalists $40,000.

In related news, the female team, coached by Vicken Eskedjian, are currently preparing for the tournament, with the lineup missing two of their best players, Shada Nasr and Nayla Alameddine.

The federation had recently naturalized American center, Martina Wood (188cm) to improve the team’s inside game. Lebanon play in Group A, alongside Somalia, Qatar and Kuwait. However, it is a great chance to introduce new players to the team who are expected to play in the elite level of the Asian Championship in 2013 for the second time in a row.

“This time of the year we are missing many good Players … like Shada Nasr, Naylla Alameddin, Emma Eskedjian, Shirine al Sharif, Sandra Najem and few others but still we have a good solid team with a young age average of 23,” said Eskedjian.

“It’s a promising team for the future but we are still going there to win a medal. Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan are ahead of us in preparation. After practicing for two weeks team chemistry is getting better and with the new naturalized player that came two days ago, we should be ready for the tournament. We hope we will come away with a gold medal,” he added.

The full female team squad is Rebecca Akl, Farah Harake, Nisrine Dandan, Tamara Khalil, Hanna Saliba, Narine Guekjian, Fay Marie Prince, Nathalie Mamo, Nathalie Sevajian, Layla Fares, Layla Assi and Martina Wood.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Sports/B...#ixzz1fTRPLzsa
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

[gazara]

Lebanese National Team Roster for Pan Arab Games :

Coach:Ghassan Sarkis (LEB)

4-Jean Abdel Nour (199-SF)
5-Miguel Martinez (188-PG)
6-Ali Mahmoud (180-PG)
7-Hussein Khatib (192-SG)
8-Nadim Hawi (205-C)
9-Elie Stephan (192-SG)
10-Ali Kanaan (206-C)
11-Rodrigue Akl (188-PG)
12-Mohammad Ibrahim (196-PG/SG)
13-Billy Faris (206-PF)
14-Sam Hoskin (206-C)(USA-LEB)(Naturalized Player)
15-Fadi El Khatib (199-SF)(CAPTAIN)

[gazara]

in my opinion our NT will Win it ,there is no Difficulties ,We have Tunisia-Jordan-Quatar ...those Teams are the best to compete with Lebanon ,also Jordan lost 2 Friendlies games against Riyadi and Champville (against Riyadi they lost by a big margin ,Daghlas and Zaid Abbas didn t play also Jean Abdel Nour and Ismail Ahmad didn t play)(Against champville by 11 i think )also i heard Baldwin talking that these friendlies aren t so important and loosing against 2 Lebanese Clubs isn t that big surprise because of imports he lost to Champville ,and he will win against Lebanon and not considering Lebanon this Big team ,and he was considering this game just to Study how to Stop Khatib ,and he knows how he will Stop him in Arab cup ,just to remember Baldwin that our NT for Sure better than Champville and Riyadi lol ,Only you can remove Thompson from Champville ,but also you have to add Ali Mahmoud ,Kanaan,Bawji ... and the others ,also to remember him that he will not Stop Fadi ,no one can stop him !

i expect a good Starting Five :

PG: Ali Mahmoud
SG:Fadi El Khatib
SF:Jean Abdel Nour
PF:Bassel Bawji
C:Sam Hoskin

[Khalid80]

Even if we win this tournament this doesn't mean anything and our federation should still be changed imo because they will use this as an excuse for their success.
And I can't believe how our NT didn't even play 1 single game to prepare for this tournament.

[mavrick_h]

also i heard Baldwin talking that these friendlies aren t so important and loosing against 2 Lebanese Clubs isn t that big surprise because of imports he lost to Champville ,and he will win against Lebanon and not considering Lebanon this Big team ,and he was considering this game just to Study how to Stop Khatib ,and he knows how he will Stop him in Arab cup ,just to remember Baldwin that our NT for Sure better than Champville and Riyadi lol ,Only you can remove Thompson from Champville ,but also you have to add Ali Mahmoud ,Kanaan,Bawji ... and the others ,also to remember him that he will not Stop Fadi ,no one can stop him !

I really respect Baldwin, but i totally think even if he watches ten more games or a season by itself he will never be able to stop the tiger. I hope he already know that. The only way is keeping Fadi away from helping his NT is to keep him away from it like the last Asian games.

It's not that i'm lebanese and i'm saying this, but i think most of us here agree that even if you bring the greatest defenders in the world (yes, the world) they won't be able to stop Fadi maybe they will limit him but that doesn't mean they can stop.

Players like Fadi El Khatib are rare in the world and he prove that more than once in local, regional, continental & international tournaments.

The point here for Baldwin how to stop Fadi to win over Lebanon, but his analysis is not quite at the right point.
Lebanon have weak points like every team. Good luck to Baldwin in finding these points but trying to defend a lebanese tiger by watching him for couple of matches it's not gonna cut it.
He's thinking more defensive way than offensive. Offense always surpass the defense.

[mavrick_h]

Even if we win this tournament this doesn't mean anything and our federation should still be changed imo because they will use this as an excuse for their success.
And I can't believe how our NT didn't even play 1 single game to prepare for this tournament.

Yeah, you might be right at some point.
I think the point here is that we show our real level and prove to the Arab countries that we can still be competitive when we want to.

It's time to regain our dignity back.

The federation should not have any excuses. Win or lose, they should have been all gone already. It's non-negotiable.

[Khalid80]

Yeah, you might be right at some point.
I think the point here is that we show our real level and prove to the Arab countries that we can still be competitive when we want to.

It's time to regain our dignity back.

The federation should not have any excuses. Win or lose, they should have been all gone already. It's non-negotiable.

I would have preferred that Riyadi and Champville not participate in the useless tournament in Dubai and instead let our NT practice together.

And in order to regain our diginty back I wish we could have done this in a tournament like the Asian Championships and not in the Pan Arab games in which some teams are playing without full rosters like the Jordanian and Tunisian NT's.

I still think that the Qatari NT will be the most dangerous team (considering that this is an event that is not affiliated with FIBA) so they will cheat and play with their full roster (Africans and all )

[mavrick_h]

I would have preferred that Riyadi and Champville not participate in the useless tournament in Dubai and instead let our NT practice together.

And in order to regain our diginty back I wish we could have done this in a tournament like the Asian Championships and not in the Pan Arab games in which some teams are playing without full rosters like the Jordanian and Tunisian NT's.

I still think that the Qatari NT will be the most dangerous team (considering that this is an event that is not affiliated with FIBA) so they will cheat and play with their full roster (Africans and all )

Yeah, totally but we know how teams in lebanon think. A little extra cash is not bad after all.

We're not playing with full squad either. Having Fadi & Ali back doesn't mean we are 100 % even now in Pan Arab. In fact we are not even close comparing Jordan.
(Elie Rustom, Daniel Faris, Roy Samaha, Charles Tabet) those are the ones approved by GS not to mention the college boys in the states.
As for Qatar well we've beaten them for several times in many occasions on their court. Not worried. Although i agree they will try to cheat like always to win this title to cover up the AC mess.

[Khalid80]

Yeah, totally but we know how teams in lebanon think. A little extra cash is not bad after all.

We're not playing with full squad either. Having Fadi & Ali back doesn't mean we are 100 % even now in Pan Arab. In fact we are not even close comparing Jordan.
(Elie Rustom, Daniel Faris, Roy Samaha, Charles Tabet) those are the ones approved by GS not to mention the college boys in the states.
As for Qatar well we've beaten them for several times in many occasions on their court. Not worried. Although i agree they will try to cheat like always to win this title to cover up the AC mess.

Yeah for sure we could use the cash especially since we will need a good budget if we plan on competing for the title when the next Asian Championships begin.

Man the Jordanian NT without Sam Daghles and Zaid Abbas (imo the best 2 Jordanian players) are like the Lebanese NT without Fadi and Jean Abdul Nour if we want to compare for example.
I know this isn't our strongest NT that we can have available but still our roster is much better off than the rest of the NT's that will be competing for the title.

I guess the only team that might send a full roster without any absences is the Qatari NT excluding the weaker teams (Iraq, Kuwait... etc)

[mavrick_h]

Yeah for sure we could use the cash especially since we will need a good budget if we plan on competing for the title when the next Asian Championships begin.

Man the Jordanian NT without Sam Daghles and Zaid Abbas (imo the best 2 Jordanian players) are like the Lebanese NT without Fadi and Jean Abdul Nour if we want to compare for example.
I know this isn't our strongest NT that we can have available but still our roster is much better off than the rest of the NT's that will be competing for the title.

I guess the only team that might send a full roster without any absences is the Qatari NT excluding the weaker teams (Iraq, Kuwait... etc)

Ok fair enough but let's suppose that Fadi & Ali or Jean aren't there and all the others are, we will still be able to beat them knowing that we wouldn't be the strongest team in this tournament.

And Zaid Abbas doesn't impress me anymore, i don't know why he lost a bit of his level.

[gazara]

10th Arab Nations Cup 2011 - Doha / Dec 9th - 23th

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Group A:
Egypt, Algeria, Iraq , Sundan

Group B:
Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia , Morocco

Group C:
Qatar, KSA, Palestine , Kuwait



Schedule / Preliminary Round

Wednesday December 7:

Qatar v/s Palestine 4h45PM*

Thursday December 8:

Kuwait v/s KSA 4h45PM*

Saturday December 10:

Egypt v/s Sudan 10h00AM*
Algeria v/s Iraq 12h15PM*
Jordon v/s Morocco 2h30PM*
Lebanon v/s Tunisia 4h45PM*

Sunday December 11:

Kuwait v/s Qatar 10h00AM*
KSA v/s Palestine 12h15PM*
Iraq v/s Egypt 2h30PM*
Sudan v/s Algeria 4h45PM*

Monday December 12:

Jordan v/s Tunisia 4h45PM*

Tuesday December 13:

Morocco v/s Lebanon 4h45PM*

Wednesday December 14:

Qatar v/s KSA 10h00AM*
Palestine v/s Kuwait 12h15PM*
Iraq v/s Sudan 2h30PM*
Egypr v/s Algeria 4h45PM*

Thursday December 15:

Tunisia v/s Morocco 4h45PM*

Friday December 16:

Jordan v/s Lebanon 4h45PM*

*Beirut Time

Al Jazeera Sport 2 and Maybe Future TV (Lebanon) Will Broadcast all the Games of the Tournament !

[gazara]

This Edition is not Bad At All ,it will a good Tournament ,the Media is Covering well the Tournament (2 to 3 Channels will broadcast it ) also many sites
about the Level ,in Group A ,Algeria are a good Team an atheltic team ,Egypt are good as well and they are competing on the championship also they will miss Ismail Ahmad and many Players in their Team ,Iraq an average team ,Sudan a weak team
About Group B ,the group B is the Group of Battles ,we can see the 2 Rivals Lebanon And Jordan ,about Lebanon we are not in our A Team we are missing a lot of Players but still we have Fadi Khatib in the roster and thats very important ,and this team for sure better than the team that participated in Asia ,our Team is going there to get the Gold for Sure and we r considered to be the most Contender on the championship and the best Team in this Cup ,About Jordan not a bad team still missing 2 Good Players like Sam Daghlas and Zaid Abbas ,Tunisia not bad ,but as i heard they will participate with Young Team ,morroco and Average Team
About Group C Quatar will play for Sure with their Full Power in their Home court ! for sure the Africans will be there ,they will compete for sure next to Lebanon-Egypt-Jordan-Tunisia if Full power ! Ksa Palestine and Kuwait average Teams !