Iran's Haddadi among stars to watch in FIBA Asia Cup

MANILA, Philippines – Iranian star behemoth Hamed Haddadi is not skipping the FIBA Asia Cup after all.

Though missing their training camp and tune-up games, Haddadi was included in the Iran’s 12-man roster for the Asian joust that unwraps Tuesday at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Beirut, Lebanon.

Haddadi is among the big stars to watch in the meet along with Lebanon sensation Fadi El-Khatib, China’s Guo Ailun, Korean gunners Ung Heo and Lee Junghyun, Chinese Taipei’s long-serving center Chih-wei Lin, Syria’s scoring machine Michael Madanly and the formidable weapons of newcomers Australia and New Zealand.

Absent are Iran’s longtime stars Samad Nikhah Bahrami and Mahdi Kamrani, Chinese Taipei naturalized player Quincy Davis and Japan center Joji Takeuchi.

Davis and Takeuchi are both injured while Bahrami and Kamrani are retired from the Iranian national team.

Arsalan Kazemi, Mohammad Jamshidi, Rouzveh Arghavan, Oshin Sahakian, Behnam Yakhchali and Sajjad Mashayekhi are the other holdovers from the Iranian team that was dethroned in Changsha in 2015.

The newcomers are Farid Aslani, Keyvan Reaei, Vahid Dalirzahan, Navid Rezaeifar and Seyed Niktash. Reaei and Rezaeifar were promoted from the Iranian Team B that competed in the recent Jones Cup in Taipei.

Mehran Hatami calls the shots for the Iranians, three-time FIBA Asia champs, who won their last championship in Manila in 2013.

Meanwhile, seasoned Olympians David Andersen and Brad Newley banner the Australian roster minus their NBA stars while New Zealand features a mix of veterans and youngsters in its Asia Cup debut.

Sans their NBA stars Andrew Bogut, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Patty Mills and others, the Aussies are still sending a formidable cast in the Asia Cup led by Andersen and Newley, both Olympic veterans.

Also making the team of coach Andrej Lemanis are Todd Blanchfield, Angus Brandt, Jason Cadee, Mitchell Creek, Cameron Gliddon, Matthew Hodgson, Nicholas Kay, Daniel Kickert, Mitchell McCarron and Mitchel Norton in a selection of NBL elite players.

Gilas Pilipinas will surely take a close look at the Boomers since the Philippines and Australia are in the same bracket with Japan and Chinese Taipei in the initial round of the World Cup qualifiers.

In Lebanon, Australia is bracketed with Japan, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong in Group D.

New Zealand tapped veterans Reuben Te Rangi, Finn Delany and Shea Ili to lead a young crew including young players Isaac Letoa, Luke Aston, James Hunter, Dyson King-Hawae and Sam Timmins.

Completing the roster are Derone Raukawa, Ethan Rusbatch, Tohi Smith-Milner and Jordan Ngatai.

 They are also not fielding their NBA star Steven Adams of the OKC Thunder, who visited Manila recently.