Between the dream of “playing with adults” and the lack of time… Does an Orthodox have the elements to compete in the “Super League”?

Khaled Tayseer Al-Amiri

Amman – Perhaps the vast majority of observers agree that the passage of an Orthodox team to the second round of the West Asian Super League in the basketball “Super League” is something, if not impossible, then very difficult and impossible to achieve. at the current stage, considering the size of the differences. Financial, technical and training.
The dream of “playing with adults” and to make the story logical, our Jordanian clubs cannot play in foreign championships for many reasons. The idea of ​​playing big matches does not come with dreams that quickly turn into a “mirage”, but comes within the framework of perfect preparing and ensuring prerequisites for success.
In reading the financial reality of Jordanian basketball clubs, they are all heavily in debt, and the Orthodox budget for the new local season of 2022, which is about $215,000, could be prepared as the price for the contract of the American professional in the ranks of Lebanese Beirut Kenny Haynes, who receives a monthly a salary of more than 25,000 dollars.
16 clubs from West Asia and the Gulf are participating in the “wasl” championship, along with the champion of India and Kazakhstan, where in the first round there will be two groups according to the “mini-tournament” qualification system. .Each group separately according to the complete league system of two stages “home and away”, with three teams qualifying from each group, joined in the final round by the Indian and Kazakh league champions, in which 8 clubs will participate, then two the best clubs qualify for the Asian Basketball Club Championship, its champion reaches the Intercontinental Cup, the highest club competition in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
The Orthodox club, which replaced the retired Palestinian team, Orthodox Ramallah, will be present in the first group, and along with it there are other teams: Beirut, Lebanon, Dhub Ahan Isfahan, Iran, and the Syrian Ahly Union from Aleppo, where the Orthodox will be a guest. Ahly Union from Aleppo at the beginning of his career, in the hall “Al-Hamdaniya” in Aleppo at six in the evening next Thursday.
Perhaps the Interim Commission of the Basketball Association will find itself in the unenviable situation of rescheduling the final date of the CFI Basketball Jordan Cup, which could be met with resistance from the other side of the final, as the postponement could benefit one team at the expense of another, noting that local instructions indicate that the participating team must be given a rest of at least 72 hours from the end of the match.
National coach Nayef Asfour confirmed in his interview with (Al-Ghad): “We want the Orthodox to appear in a decent way in the Asian Championship, because it has a good composition of players for the national team.” Most of his patrols began two months ago.
And he added: “The decision to participate at this time is a bold step by the Orthodox and an important point for the return of Jordanian teams for foreign participation. It will also represent a real test for the team’s technical staff, and an opportunity for the club’s management to stand at the level of the professional staff.” Emphasizing that Orthodoxy needs professionals.
He concluded his speech with the words: “The Orthodox will play 6 away matches with a high competitive level, and these matches can be a double-edged sword, whether they contribute to raising the technical level of the team and achieving a high level of cohesion, which is reflected in its results in local competitions, or a negative factor with a number of injuries.” and press matches.
The new version bears the number 14 in the history of the West Asian Club Championship, which was first launched in 2005 and whose title was held by the then Lebanese wisdom, while the Iranian team Mahram is the most crowned with 4 titles, followed by the Lebanese athlete Beirut with 3 titles. Three Jordanian clubs have previously participated in the West Asian Basketball Club Championship, namely: Zain “Fast Link” previously and Al-Riyadi Aramex, and both participated in 4 copies, compared to one participation for Arena, while the current participation is the first for Orthodox.
Critics confirm that the task seems difficult for the Orthodox, but not impossible, noting that the level of foreign players will largely determine the level of the team, as the instructions allow for three professionals to enter the preliminary list and one player to discover the match.
The Orthodox roster, led by Lebanese coach Harry Savaya and his assistant Zaid Sahouri, includes players: Hani Al-Faraj, Akef Al-Shiyab, Zaid Khoury, Ahmed Al-Khatib, Ashraf Al-Hindi, Khaled Abu Abboud, Ahmed Al-Hamarsheh, Freddy Ibrahim, Muhammad Shaher and Abdullah Al-Aksh.
One of the fans of the Orthodox club living in Saudi Arabia, Moayad Al-Homsi, believes that the “Abdoun Eagles” team needs more technical reinforcement at the level of selecting the elements of the team, although the selected list of players looks good for the competition at the local level, hoping that the management will for the club to host home matches. For the team in the club hall, so that the team has adequate support from the public.