Afghanistan men's national basketball team

The Afghanistan men's national basketball team (Persian: تیم ملی بسکتبال مردان افغانستان) is the men's national basketball team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan National Basketball Federation.[1][2][3][4] Afghanistan joined FIBA and became a member of FIBA Asia in 1968. Afghanistan won the 2010 South Asian Games, becoming the first sports team to win gold in the nation's history.[5]

Afghanistan
FIBA ranking77
Joined FIBA1968
FIBA zoneFIBA Asia
National federationAfghanistan National Basketball Federation
CoachMamo Rafiq
Asian Games
Appearances2 (first in 2006)
MedalsNone
South Asian Games
Appearances1 (first in 2010)
Medals Gold: 2010
Medal record

History

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Early history

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Basketball was first played in Afghanistan in 1936. In 1966, the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee (ANOC) founded the first national basketball team after receiving challenges from India and Pakistan. Tom Gouttierre, an American Peace Corps volunteer and coach of the team at Habibia High School, became the first coach. Using detailed, confidential instructions from John Wooden, the Afghanistan team became the only other to run the famous UCLA zone press.[6]

Although the international games were canceled, in 1969 Gouttierre returned on a Fulbright Fellowship and again became the Habibia coach, and in 1970 Bill Bradley of the New York Knicks tutored the team while visiting the country. That year China challenged the ANOC. Because of the lack of preparation time, Gouttierre decided that current and former Habibia players were the best choice for a second Afghanistan national team. Using the zone press, it defeated a much larger Chinese team in Parwan Province in the Afghanistan team's first international victory.[6]

FIBA Asia Cup

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Afghanistan has failed to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup, while as well as only entering in the qualification rounds only once in 2013 when they entered in the South Asian Basketball Association Qualifying Round. Afghanistan would defeat Nepal before losing to India and failing to qualify for the Asia Cup. This is their only appearance in FIBA Asia Cup qualification rounds to date.[citation needed]

Asian Games

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Afghanistan has made two brief appearance in the Asian Games in 2006 and 2010. Both times the men's national team would struggle for success and failing to qualify outside the first round in both years respectively. The 2010 edition would be marked as the last time Afghanistan has played any competitive men's national teams games.

South Asian Games

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Afghanistan would see their best success in international competition in the form of the 2010 edition of the South Asian Games. They would defeat India and claim gold in what has been their only appearance in the South Asian Games to date.[citation needed]

Competitive record

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Summer Olympics

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Year Position Pld W L
  1936 Not a FIBA member
  1948
  1952
  1956
  1960
  1964
  1968 Did not enter
  1972
  1976
  1980
  1984
  1988
  1992
  1996
  2000
  2004
  2008
  2012
  2016
  2020
  2024
Total 0/21 0 0 0

FIBA World Cup

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Year Position Pld W L
  1950 Not a FIBA member
  1954
  1959
  1963
  1967
  1970 Did not enter
  1974
  1978
  1982
  1986
  1990
  1994
  1998
  2002
  2006
  2010
  2014
  2019
      2023
  2027
Total 0/20 0 0 0

FIBA Asia Cup

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Year Position Pld W L
  1960 Not a FIBA member
  1963
  1965
  1967
  1969 Did not enter
  1971
  1973
  1975
  1977
  1979
  1981
  1983
  1985
  1987
  1989
  1991
  1993
  1995
  1997
  1999
  2001
  2003
  2005
  2007
  2009
  2011
  2013 Did not qualify
  2015 Did not enter
  2017
  2022
  2025
Total 0/31 0 0 0

Asian Games

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  • 1970-2002 : Did not qualify
  • 2006 : 13th
  • 2010 : 13th
  • 2014-2022 : Did not qualify

South Asian Games

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Year Position Pld W L
  1987 Not part of SAOC until 2004
  1991
  1995
  2010   ? ? ?
  2019 Left SAOC in 2016
Total 0/5 0 0 0

Honours

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Coaches

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Head Coach:*  Mamo Rafiq – 2007-now

Assistant Coach: *  Abdul Wasi Pazhman - 2010

Assistant Coach: *  Leo Balayon - 2009

2010 team

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The following twelve players were named to the roster for the 2010 Asian Games.

Afghanistan men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G/F 3 Aaron Gholami 14 – (1996-01-11)January 11, 1996 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Mölndal Basket  
G/F 4 Yousof Etemadi 32 – (1978-07-21)July 21, 1978 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Malibu Pirates  
F/C 5 Nafi Mashriqi 30 – (1979-12-12)December 12, 1979 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) NYC Thunder  
F 6 Qais Haider 23 – (1987-06-25)June 25, 1987 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Free agent
G/F 7 Masseh Tahiry 21 – (1989-07-31)July 31, 1989 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Free agent
G 8 Sayed Yussuf Ansary 21 – (1989-07-18)July 18, 1989 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Free agent
F/C 9 Habib Kabir 23 – (1987-05-25)May 25, 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Sacramento CC  
G 10 Abdullah Karimi 27 – (1982-12-21)December 21, 1982 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Free agent
G/F 11 Haroun Arefi 23 – (1987-02-01)February 1, 1987 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Free agent
G 12 Ali Noorzad 24 – (1985-11-21)November 21, 1985 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Free agent
G 13 Safi Mojaddidi 23 – (1987-02-02)February 2, 1987 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Free agent
G 14 Mohammad Soratgar 19 – (1991-05-06)May 6, 1991 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Free agent
F 15 Sayed Amiri 22 – (1988-08-05)August 5, 1988 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Free agent
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (NP) Naturalized player
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 11 November 2010

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Nafi Mashriqi Habib Kabir
PF Haroun Arefi Qais Haider
SF Yousof Etemadi Masseh Tahiry Sayed Amiri
SG Safi Mojaddidi Sayed Yussuf Ansary
PG Ali Noorzad Abdullah Karimi Mohammad Soratgar

See also

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Videos

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA National Federations – Afghanistan". Fiba.com. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Keeping Afghan Men's basketball Alive is a Scramble". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Afghan national team making basketball inroads". Usatoday.Com. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Afghan Men's Basketball Team Denied Chance at Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  5. ^ "Afghan Sports Federation – 2010 South Asian Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh; BREAKING NEWS: Afghanistan National Basketball Team Wins Gold". AfghanSportsFederation.org. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  6. ^ a b Ballard, Chris (22 July 2013). "The Wizard of Kabul". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.