Qatar Basketball

FIBA World Cup: New Qatar coach eyes success in qualifiers

DOHA: Qatar will be aiming to go step-by-step in their qualifying campaign of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, new coach Tim Lewis has hinted.

The Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) has roped in the 50-year-old Briton who met with QBF President Ahmad Al Muftah and the Chairman of the National Teams Committee Abdul Rahman Al Hitmi on Sunday.

“We have the World Cup qualifying rounds coming up. Our goal is to be as competitive as possible,” Lewis said in an interview released by QBF through social media platform.

“We have Iran, Iraq and Kazakhstan in our group. We hope to be one of the top three teams that go through to the next round,” the former Philippines coach added in the interview.

Qatar, who are in Group D of the Asian Zone qualifying teams will launch their campaign with a game against Kazakhstan on November 24 in Doha. The other two teams are Iran and Iraq.

“I am looking forward to my time here. People have been extremely welcoming. I am looking forward to help grow Qatar basketball,” Lewis said.

“I just landed I have come to see the facilities at the federation. Surprisingly it is comparable to an NBA facility. It is a great venue to bring in the guys to practice. I am here to help  move the program forward,” he added.

The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification - Asia Zone - process will determine the 6 teams from FIBA Asia and/or FIBA Oceania that will participate at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.