AMMAN (FIBA) - One
can't think of Jordan basketball and the national team's magical moments the
past several years without conjuring up the image of Osama Daghles.
Remember the 2009 FIBA
Asia Championship and his 11-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist and 2-steal effort for
Jordan in their 80-66 win over Lebanon that clinched a spot in the 2010 FIBA
Basketball World Cup? Daghles and his teammates celebrated after the win like
there was no tomorrow.
Then there was the
2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China. Jordan were out of sorts and
looking like they would make an early exit, yet they progressed to the
Quarter-Finals and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Asia for many a
year.
They beat the two-time
defending champions Iran. Jordan later came within a whisker of qualifying for
the Olympics but lost a heartbreaking Final to China.
"Those were two
of my favorite moments with the national team," Daghles said to FIBA.com.
"In 2009, beating our rival Lebanon to qualify. Then in 2011, we had a
chance to win despite our struggles earlier in the tournament. No one gave
us a chance but we fought hard. I'll always take that with me."
Daghles,
now 36, wants a new generation of Jordan players to have a positive
time as he did. He wants to see them taste success and for the sport
to grow in the country.
But he wants them to
have an even sweeter experience than he did. He wants the players to run onto
their own court and play important games in front of their countrymen. It's why
he is a passionate supporter of FIBA's new system of competition.
Over a four-year
cycle from 2017 through 2021, national teams will play regular home
and away games to qualify for the 2019 FIBA
Basketball World Cup and the 2021 FIBA Continental Cups.
"It's a no-brainer,"
Daghles said. "This is a huge thing. Countries like Jordan, Lebanon
that don't host championships will get some home games."
Finally,
the fans can come and see the national team play meaningful games that mean
something to qualify for the next stages. Maybe Jordan will be playing at home
with a spot in the World Cup at stake. Imagine that. - Daghles
The windows for the 2019 FIBA
Basketball World Cup qualifying will open in 2017 in
November (Nov. 20-28) and continue in February (Feb. 19-27).
The third window will
run from 25 June to 3 July, the fourth in September (10-18) and fifth from 26
November to 4 December with the last in 2019 February (20-28). Daghles says
there are a lot of fans of Jordan basketball. He says national team needs their
backing.
I would
like to see the fan base escalate and show its support more in the arena
than in the social media. That would be better from a sponsorship
standpoint. We do have a lot of people that are always talking about it. But it
hasn't transformed to the court, which is a little bit disappointing. - Daghles
With meaningful home
games, Jordan fans will have additional incentive to attend. And like Daghles
says, they may just get a chance to cheer for their team when it attempts
to clinch a spot at a major event like the World Cup.
Source: fiba.com
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