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.[2][3][4][5] 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.[6]

Afghanistan
FIBA rankingNR (15 September 2023)[1]
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
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
South Asian Games 1 0 0
South Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2010 Dhaka

History

Early history

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.[7]

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.[7]

FIBA Asia Cup

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.

Asian Games

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

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.

Competitive record

Summer Olympics

Year Position Pld W L
Germany 1936Not a FIBA member
United Kingdom 1948
Finland 1952
Australia 1956
Italy 1960
Japan 1964
Mexico 1968Did not enter
Germany 1972
Canada 1976
Soviet Union 1980
United States 1984
South Korea 1988
Spain 1992
United States 1996
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012
Brazil 2016
Japan 2020
Total0/20000

FIBA World Cup

Year Position Pld W L
Argentina 1950Not a FIBA member
Brazil 1954
Chile 1959
Brazil 1963
Uruguay 1967
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1970Did not enter
Puerto Rico 1974
Philippines 1978
Colombia 1982
Spain 1986
Argentina 1990
Canada 1994
Greece 1998
United States 2002
Japan 2006
Turkey 2010
Spain 2014
China 2019
Philippines Japan Indonesia 2023
Qatar 2027To be determined
Total0/20000

FIBA Asia Cup

Year Position Pld W L
Philippines 1960Not a FIBA member
Taiwan 1963
Malaysia 1965
South Korea 1967
Thailand 1969Did not enter
Japan 1971
Philippines 1973
Thailand 1975
Malaysia 1977
Japan 1979
India 1981
Hong Kong 1983
Malaysia 1985
Thailand 1987
China 1989
Japan 1991
Indonesia 1993
South Korea 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997
Japan 1999
China 2001
China 2003
Qatar 2005
Japan 2007
China 2009
China 2011
Philippines 2013Did not qualify
China 2015Did not enter
Lebanon 2017
Indonesia 2022
Total0/30000

Asian Games

  • 1970-2002 : Did not qualify
  • 2006 : 13th
  • 2010 : 13th
  • 2014 : Did not qualify
  • 2018 : To be determined

South Asian Games

Year Position Pld W L
India 1987Did not enter
Sri Lanka 1991
India 1995
Bangladesh 20101st place, gold medalist(s)???
Nepal 2019Did not enter
Total0/5000

Honours

Coaches

Head Coach:*United States Mamo Rafiq – 2007-now

Assistant Coach: *Afghanistan Abdul Wasi Pazhman - 2010

Assistant Coach: *Philippines Leo Balayon - 2009

2010 team

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

Afghanistan men's national basketball team roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
G/F 3 Aaron Gholami 14 – (1996-01-11)January 11, 1996 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Mölndal Basket Sweden
G/F 4 Yousof Etemadi 32 – (1978-07-21)July 21, 1978 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Malibu Pirates United States
F/C 5 Nafi Mashriqi 30 – (1979-12-12)December 12, 1979 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) NYC Thunder United States
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 United States
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
  • United States Mamo Rafiq
Assistant coach(es)
  • Afghanistan Abdul Wasi Pazhman
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (NP) Naturalized player
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 11 November 2010

Depth chart

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

Videos

References

  1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. "FIBA National Federations – Afghanistan". Fiba.com. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  3. "Keeping Afghan Men's basketball Alive is a Scramble". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  4. "Afghan national team making basketball inroads". Usatoday.Com. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  5. "Afghan Men's Basketball Team Denied Chance at Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  6. "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.
  7. Ballard, Chris (22 July 2013). "The Wizard of Kabul". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
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