Jordan's Al-Sous remains positive despite loss

MANILA, Philippines – Long-time Jordan national team member Wesam Al-Sous was still positive after their narrow 87-91 loss in their opening match against Chinese Taipei in the 2013 Manila FIBA Asia Men's Basketball Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“It was a good game for us but I think we just had a lot of new players this year who lacked the experience that is why we lost a close game,” said Al-Sous, who scored 18 points including four triples.

Jordan missed the services of former team captain Sam Dahgles, Rasheim Wright, Zaid and Islam Abbas, key players in their second place finish in the 2011 FIBA Asia championships in Wuhan, China. 

Jordan held a 67-65 lead entering the payoff period but could not sustain it succumbing to the pressure applied by the vastly improved Taipei squad.

“Although we lost, I think we can learn a lot from this game and I’m sure the coaches will make the right adjustments so hopefully next game will be better for us,” Al-Sous added.

“It’s just hard to start with a team but we put this on our back and with a new coach we are still adjusting but I think if we just had more experience we might have won this game,” he added.

Jordan's new naturalized player Jimmy Baxter led the team with an impressive game-high 30 points in their loss.