FIBA PRAISE FOR JORDAN BASKETBALL

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has singled out Jordan for praise following the opening round of qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup.

Jordan looked fantastic as they beat Syria and Lebanon last week to put themselves in a strong position to advance to the next stage of qualifiers for the World Cup, which will be held in China.

The team’s 87-83 win over regional favourites Lebanon in front of nearly 7,000 fans at a packed Prince Hamzeh Arena drew particular praise.

Describing it as a “new era for Jordan Basketball’ an article on the governing body’s web site quoted coach Sam Daghlas as saying: “Seeing this crowd in Prince Hamzeh Arena is all we need right now.

“We want to make them happy and keep going until we reach the 2019 World Cup.”

The article highlighted that this was Jordan’s first win over Lebanon since 2009 and that is was a night that will long in the memory. Jordan’s next Group C match will be against India in mid-February.