Gilas faces new-look Syria

MANILA, Philippines — Syria will unveil a new naturalized import D’Angelo Harrison to play against Gilas in the fifth FIBA World Cup Asia qualifying window in Seremban, Malaysia, on Nov. 27 and with only two wins in eight games, it’s not likely to survive the race for seven slots allocated for Asia/Oceania, excluding host Qatar, in the 32-nation conclave in Doha next year.

It’s not sure if coach Joey Stiebing will continue to call the shots for Syria although his contract is up to the end of the qualifiers. Another coach Haitham Jameel is in charge of preparing a 19-man pool for the coming window. The pool lists five newcomers who were on Syria’s team at the recent FIBA U18 Asia Cup in India with 6-11 Majak Majak, 16, on top of the list.

Expected to make the final 12 are foreign-born veterans 6-6 Christian Maran, 6-4 Yousef Abdullah, 6-2 Andree Michelsson and 6-9 David Hermes. Sydney-born Maran, 27, is averaging 5.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 26.2 minutes in the qualifiers. Abdullah, Michelsson and Hermes were born in Sweden. Abdullah, 22, has played in Sweden and Norway. Michelsson, 29, saw action in Sweden, Iceland, Germany and Italy while Hermes, 25, suited up in Spain before playing at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, University of Texas at San Antonio and University of North Carolina at Asheville.

The Philippines has won two of three all-time meetings against Syria. At the 2003 Asian Championships, Syria prevailed, 95-77 then the Philippines took the next two games, 107-100 at the 2007 FIBA Asia Cup and 75-52 at the 2011 FIBA Asia Cup. In head-to-head stats after four qualifying windows, Gilas is averaging 76.9 points to Syria’s 66.8, 48 rebounds to 33.5, 18.9 assists to 15.6 and 15.4 turnover points to 12.8. Syria is shooting 31.9 percent from three compared to Gilas’ 25.4 percent. In the FIBA ladder, Syria is No. 73 and the Philippines, No. 40.

Harrison, 33, is the career three-point shooting leader at St. John’s University, the same New York school where Justin Brownlee played. The 6-4 guard averaged 17.4 points in four years at St. John’s then played in Turkey, Israel, Russia, France, Italy (five seasons), Ukraine, Iran and Syria. Harrison’s career game-highs include 39 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and seven triple connections. In his sophomore varsity year, he was suspended by coach Steve Lavin for poor conduct and took anger management therapy. Harrison was mentored back on track by former NBA guard John Lucas and former Rutgers University coach Mike Rice.