Ex-Gilas, half-Pinoy lead Bahrain

MANILA, Philippines - Early arrival Bahrain is intent to make a serious breakthrough at the 27th FIBA-Asia Championships here on Aug. 1-11 with Serbian coach Sasa Nikitovic leaning on former Gilas import C. J. Giles and Fil-Bahraini Bader Abdulla Malabes to lead the charge.

The Bahrain national squad is now in town staying at Holiday Inn and will play tune-up games against PBA clubs Globalport, Barako Bull on Friday and San Mig Coffee. The team roster lists the oldest player in the tournament – 6-2 Ahmed Malallah, also known as Aman Ahmed and Ahmed Sultan, who is 42. He played on the Bahrain team that finished 15th at the FIBA-Asia Championships in Wuhan two years ago and has been with the national squad since 1999.

To qualify for this year’s FIBA-Asia tournament, Bahrain had to finish in the top three of the Gulf eliminations last September. Winding up 1-2-3 in the Gulf sub-zone qualifiers were Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in that order. Failing to book a ticket to Manila were fourth placer United Arab Emirates and fourth placer Oman. Bahrain beat Saudi Arabia, 67-64, United Arab Emirates, 93-74, and Oman, 83-36, before losing to Qatar, 74-64, in the finals.

In Wuhan, Bahrain escaped the bottom of the barrel when it won over Qatar by default to take 15th place. Bahrain previously bowed to the Philippines, 113-71, China, 101-49, United Arab Emirates, 91-53, and Indonesia, 85-62. Malabes, 25, averaged 14.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists to pace the Bahrainis. The former La Salle cager, whose mother is Filipina, was the only Bahraini player to average in double figures.

Barako Bull and former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, a Serbian like Nikitovic, said yesterday Bahrain has a legitimate shot at advancing to the second round of the FIBA-Asia Championships. Two years ago, Bahrain didn’t make it past the first round of eliminations after losing to the Philippines, China and United Arab Emirates. This time, it is bracketed in Group D with Kazakhstan, Thailand and India.

“The motivation is to qualify for the second round and play three more games against tough international competition,” said Toroman. “Sasa is very knowledgeable and qualified as head coach. He is young (34) but with a lot of experience in international basketball. C. J. is a talented player who can shoot the three to spread the floor and is an excellent rebounder. He is a shot blocker and I think that is one of his biggest values. C. J. could easily play as a top import in Europe if he wants to. I’ve talked to him since he arrived and joked that he can’t seem to get away from a Serbian coach, first me and now Sasa.”

If Bahrain survives the first round, it will play Group C’s expected top three China, Iran and South Korea in the second round. To advance, Bahrain must finish in the top three of Group D, meaning either Thailand or India will be eliminated as Kazakhstan is tipped to dominate the bracket.

Giles, 27, is a 6-11, 240-pound center who played for Kansas and Oregon State before nearly making the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors lineups. In 2009, he played for Gilas at the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup in Jakarta and took Toroman’s team to fifth place. Giles, whose history of attitude problems dates back to his collegiate years, was later replaced by Jamal Sampson who in turn was replaced by Marcus Douthit, now Gilas’ naturalized player.

Giles, Malabes and Ahmed were teammates on the Al-Muharraq club that lost the Bahrain title to Manama in the best-of-five finals recently. Manama clinched the crown in Game 4, 67-64, with Senegal’s Pape Sow, formerly with the Toronto Raptors, as its import.

Nikitovic was the former Serbian U-16 national coach and was coach Dusan Ivkovic’s first assistant with the Serbian national team that finished fourth at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey in 2010. He is in town with Bahraini assistants Hussain Qaheri and Hassan Makki.

Bahrain Basketball Association technical director and national team manager Ahmed Ali said Nikitovic was invited to call the shots in the coming FIBA-Asia Championships because of his impressive credentials and references. “We have asked around with our contacts in Serbian basketball and they all spoke very highly of him,” said Ali quoted by FIBA-Asia. “He has plenty of experience in his country at all levels of basketball. We ourselves know a few Serbian coaches who have coached in Bahrain and we know they have good knowledge of the game.”

The Bahrain team arrived without basketballs and requested Toroman’s assistance in providing at least six basketballs for yesterday’s practice. Team officials said their basketballs were on the way to Manila from Bahrain.