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From August 25 to September 10, Lebanon will play in its fourth Basketball World Cup. This is Beirut looks back at the highlights of the three previous participations.
Lebanon will be taking part in its fourth Basketball World Cup from August 25 to September 10. The World Cup will be held in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Lebanon’s first three participations in this global event took place in 2002 in the USA, in 2006 in Japan and in 2010 in Turkey. This is Beirut looks back at the highlights of the three previous participations, bearing in mind that Lebanon has gone 13 years without taking part in this event (2010-2023).
In 2002, Lebanon took part in the World Cup in Indianapolis (USA), when the Lebanese Basketball Federation was chaired by Jean Hammam. The team was coached by American John Newman and captained by Yasser el-Hage, one of the best Lebanese and Arab players in history. Lebanon qualified for the 2002 World Cup after finishing second to the hosts at the 2001 Asian Championships in Shanghai, China. At the time, China’s ranks included Yao Ming. In Indianapolis, Lebanon lost their three first-round matches to Brazil (73-102), Puerto Rico (77-99) and Turkey (80-107). American Joe Vogel was the naturalized Lebanese player for this competition. The Lebanese squad included Yasser el-Hage, Elie Mechantaf, Walid Doumiaty, Joe Vogel, Elie Kassouf, Abdo Chidiac, Ali Awarke, Georges Chibani, Richard Halit, Rony Fahed, Ghazi Boustany (currently a member of the Lebanese Basketball Federation and Director of National Teams) and Moussa Moussa. Elie Nasr was absent from the team due to injury. Nasr has never played in a World Cup in his career.
Providential political intervention
In 2005, Lebanon qualified for the World Cup for the second time in their history, having once again finished runners-up to Yao Ming’s China in Asia. The 2006 edition was held in Japan and the President of the Lebanese Basketball Federation was Michel Tannous. Lebanon’s coach was American Paul Kofter, with Joe Vogel as naturalized player and Fady el-Khatib as captain. Lebanon’s results in Japan in 2006 were better than in 2002, with a victory over Venezuela (82-72) and a surprise 74-73 win over France. However, Lebanon lost to Argentina (72-107), Serbia (57-104) and Nigeria (72-95). A win over Nigeria would have qualified Lebanon for the second round. In 2006, the Lebanese team included Fadi el-Khatib, Jean Abdelnour, Hussein Tawbe, Ali Mahmoud, Rony Fahed, Omar Turk, Bryan Bechara, Bassem Balaa, Joe Vogel, Ali Fakhreddine, Sabah Khoury and Roy Samaha.
At the Asian Cup in 2009, Lebanon finished fourth, it thus failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. But an intervention by the President of the Lebanese Basketball Federation at the time, Pierre Kakhia, with Prime Minister Saad el-Hariri secured Lebanon an invitation to the 2010 World Cup in Turkey. A few weeks before the World Cup, the Federation chaired by Pierre Kakhia collectively resigned, leaving the reins to Georges Barakat. At the World Cup in Izmir (Turkey), Lebanon won its opening game against Canada (81-71) before recording four consecutive defeats against France (59-86), New Zealand (76-108), Spain (57-91) and Lithuania (66-84). Lebanon’s coach at the 2010 World Cup was American-New Zealander Thomas Baldwin, and the captain was Fadi el-Khatib. Lebanon’s players included Fadi el-Khatib, Ali Mahmoud, Elie Rustom, Elie Stephan, Bryan Bechara, Rony Fahed, Jean Abdelnour, naturalized player Jackson Vroman (who died a few years ago in the USA in a mysterious accident) and Rodrigue Akl.
A Lebanese coach for the first time
In 2023, with a Federation chaired by Akram Halabi, Lebanon will take part in the World Cup for the fourth time in its history. The draw has placed Lebanon in Group H alongside France, Canada and Latvia. Lebanon beat France in 2006 and Canada in 2010 in the same competition. Lebanon will play their first-round matches in Indonesia, where they finished runners-up in the 2022 Asia-Oceania Cup, thus qualifying for the World Basketball Cup. For the first time, Lebanon will play in this competition with a Lebanese coach, Jad el-Hajj. The national team’s naturalized player is American Omari Spellman.
Hajj has shortlisted sixteen players for the World Cup. Only twelve will be selected in the end. The sixteen shortlisted players are: Ali Haidar, Wael Arakji, Jad Khalil, Ali Mezher, Ali Mansour, Amir Saoud, Karim Zeinoun, Sergio Darwich, Youssef Khayat, Hayk Gyokchian, Karim Ezzeddine, Gerard Hadidian, Mark Khoueiry, Mark Khoury, Naïm Rabay and Omari Spellman. These sixteen Lebanese players have never played in a World Cup, although players from the 2010 World Cup squad are still active with various clubs, including Elie Rustom, Ali Mahmoud and Rodrigue Akl.
