UAE bows out without Crump

MANILA, Philippines - Al Shabab of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the first casualty in the 22nd FIBA-Asia Champions Cup and bowed out of contention after absorbing its fourth straight loss to Al Jala’a of Syria with one of its two imports unable to suit up at the Philsports Arena last Tuesday.

Former University of Tennessee center Brandon Crump was supposed to team up with 6-9 Courtney Fields for Al Shabab but failed to get clearance from the FIBA-Asia eligibility committee.

A FIBA-Asia official said Crump’s name was not included in the 24-man lineup that Al Shabab transmitted in the first deadline last April 28. Teams were required to send in their 12-man rosters last May 14. Organizers allowed teams to make changes in the 12-man lineup up to the managers’ meeting last May 27, the day before the tournament started, but any switch must involve a player named in the initial 24-man cast. A change in the 12-man roster entails a $800 fee per player.

“You can’t bring in a player from out of the blue and insert him in the final 12-man lineup,” said the FIBA-Asia official. “He’s got to be in the original 24-man lineup. We’ve checked both the 24 and 12-man lineups that Al Shabab submitted and we noticed the No. 13 player, identified as an import, was blank. Al Shabab arrived with Crump and appealed if he could be included to fill in the blank slot. But the rules are clear.”

Crump watched helplessly on the sidelines as Al Shabab was crushed by Al Riyadi of Lebanon, 109-90, Mahram of Iran, 90-73, Al Rayyan of Qatar, 78-60, and Al Jala’a of Syria, 93-63. Fields and Rashed Al Zaabi scored in double figures in every game but found little support.

Crump, 28, would’ve provided a strong inside presence for Al Shabab. In the do-or-die game against Al Jala’a, Al Shabab was badly mauled off the boards, 54-34. Crump has played in China, Kuwait, South Korea and Saudi Arabia so is familiar with the Asian game. He was the leading rebounder in the Arab Club Championships in 2007 and the Chinese league in 2006-07.

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Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman’s contract is expiring in October and a renewal will depend on how the national team performs in the FIBA-Asia Championships in Wuhan, China, the month before.

Toroman is on the third year of his Gilas contract and has worked wonders in transforming the national squad into a slick, well-oiled machine. His appreciation of what he calls the “tactical” game is what sets Toroman apart from the others. Despite Gilas’ lack of size, Toroman has been able to mold the national team into a contender with its quickness, agility and athleticism.

Toroman’s claim to fame was leading Iran to the top of the FIBA-Asia Championships in 2007. The victory earned for Toroman and Iran a ticket to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In the Champions Cup, Gilas is the second shortest team. The Kuala Lumpur Dragons of Malaysia has the lowest average ceiling of 6-2 while Gilas is slightly higher at 6-2 1/2.

When Toroman was a coach with Novi Sad in the Serbian league, one of his assistants was Nenad Krzdic. They’ve been reunited in the Champions Cup as Krzdic is now the Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia coach. One of Krzdic’s imports is Vladislav Dragajlovic, also a Serb.