AMMAN —
Jordan’s first-division basketball team is scheduled
to face off against Qatar today (Monday) at the Prince Hamzah Hall (7pm) as the
two team continue preparing for the final window of the
FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
اضافة اعلان
Jordan will be hosting the qualifiers between June 12 and
June 14.
In their last friendly, against Saudi Arabia, Jordan lost to
Saudi by a 20-point difference (89-69). Jordan and Saudi will play again on
Tuesday in their last friendly before their official qualifier games begin on
the June 12.
Jordan’s own Freddy Ibrahim was the MVP during the game against
Saudi after scoring 25 points, nine follow through, seven assists, three steals
and a turnover.
National team coach, Marwan Matouq said he had complete
faith in the ability of thhe players and technical team to get back on track in
the qualifiers and perform well in their upcoming matches.
“We have a good team and there is nothing to worry about.
This is our team’s first game in its new suit in around 1 year and three months
especially that the team is lacking in different aspects of experience,” Matouq
said.
I have complete trust in the team. There have been errors on
the defensive and offensive sides and we will address them. We scored 16
baskets out of 70 attempts, as well as 5 baskets of 28 attempts from the
3-point line.
Matouq explained that the purpose of friendly matches is to
better decide on an appropriate formation, which best fits the players’
abilities and serves in maximizing their performance in official games.
“We tried 12 players in our game against Saudi Arabia. We
started with a formation that includes Amine ABu Hawas, Malek Kanaan, Sami
Bzai’, Ahmad Hamarsheh and Mohammad Shaher. These five players were switched
out with a number of players, including Fredy Ibrahim, Ahmad Obaid. Youssef Abu
Wazneh, Ibrahim Hamati, Khaled Abu Abboud, Nader Ahmad and Ghaith Faraj”. Some
did well while I hope others can improve their performance,” Matouq added.
He said that the team is expected to perform better in
upcoming matches and that the administration takes “full responsibility”,
whether they win or lose.
“We cannot make any excuses, but I am certain we will be in
better shape for the matches to come and that our performance will continue to
improve,” Matouq added.
He continued: “There is no need for concern. These are friendly
matches and the idea behind them is to observe and fix errors. They are not a
real indicator of performance. The players have the character to perform what
is necessary.”
Matouq said that the team is being restructured despite the
absence of some experienced players, including Zaid Abbas and Mousa Al-Awadi,
in addition to the Kingdom’s naturalized player, Dar Tucker due to injury.
“We have placed 17 players in the health bubble, but their
number will be cut down to 14, 72 hours before we enter the FIBA-Asia approved
health bubble.”
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