ONE team from the Middle East, Iraq, now stands between Gilas Pilipinas and a place in the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 quarterfinals.
Iraq may have long been in the shadows of traditional basketball powers in East Asia like Iran, Jordan, and Qatar, but the last thing Gilas wants to do is underestimate the Iraqis heading to their 4 p.m. knockout game on Saturday.
Iraq is last team in
Iraq is ranked No. 92 in the world, 58 places below Gilas, and in only its fifth appearance in the Fiba Asia Cup - and first since 2017. The Iraqis almost didn't make it, needing to beat Bahrain in the last game of the qualifiers in February to punch the last ticket to Jeddah.
But the way they played in Group D so far, the Lions of Mesopotamia looked like they belonged in Asia's premier basketball showcase.
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Pitted against world No. 22 in their opening game, the Iraqis, led by naturalized player Demario Mayfield, Abbas Alqarnawi and Thulfiqar Hammoodi, led 43-42 at halftime and trailed the Tall Blacks by just two, 63-61, entering the final quarter.
Only a big fourth quarter spared the Tall Blacks blushes, 100-78.
Against Chinese Taipei, the Lions lost by a bigger margin, 87-60, on Thursday. But the Taiwanese needed a 22-point explosion from Lin Ting-chien and 13 points from Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga to pull away.
Abdullah Hayder Alibraheemi, a 6-8 forward, led the way with 15 points and 6 rebounds against Chinese-Taipei and is the most consistent player for Iraq so far. Mayfield is averaging 10 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
So how has Iraq fared against Gilas?
The last time Iraq made it to the Fiba Asia Cup in 2017 in Lebanon, the Lions lost, 84-68, to a Gilas side coached by Chot Reyes and led by Terrence Romeo, Christian Standhardinger, Matthew Wright, Roger Pogoy, and Gabe Norwood.
That same year, the two teams met at the Jones Cup where Gilas beat Iraq, 84-75, in an ill-tempered game despite Mayfield's 29 points.
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