Qatar Basketball

The British coach relishes the challenge of helping Qatar transition in the Asian Qualifiers

British coach Tim Lewis is relishing the challenge of working with Qatar’s basketball team that is going through a transition. His main aim is to build not only a side strong for the upcoming world qualifiers but also a bigger pool of talent for the future.
 
During an exclusive interview, the 50-year-old, who has had stints in the USA, Egypt, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines, sounded impressed with the skills of the players at his disposal and the way the QBF has made him feel at home in the country.
 
Qatar have been placed in the Group D of the Asian qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup 2019, along with Asian runners-up Iran, Iraq and Kazakhstan. They will host Kazakhstan in Al Gharafa on November 24 and then travel to Tehran to take on mighty Iran. After that, their first round will end in February 2018 with a game against Iraq -  a side that had beaten them in the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Lebanon.
 
Talking about the first session and the players, he said, “It is an exciting group and you have a good mix of the old and the young. We have got a couple of injuries, which is a bit of a setback at the moment. Hopefully, they will come through it soon. We just had the first session and the players responded well.
 
“It is always just teaching the basics like what we are and what we want on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. I am pleased with them. We had a short period of the league and some of them just played for their clubs. It is just gauging how much you can do and how much you can’t do.”
 
 
On his experience in Thailand and the Philippines:
“You got less locals in the League so you have less local talent to choose from. But in terms of the group that we have, I feel the Qatari players are pretty strong and they have good skillsets. Hopefully, if we can expand the talent pool and grow the base of the players, it will help us in the long term.”
 
 
On working in the ME for the first time:
“There was just an opportunity that came up to me and then a couple of people that I know worked here before spoke highly of this place and the federation. It seemed like a very good opportunity.”
 
On Qatar’s qualifiers:
“We want to see the team progress in each game and we want to see the growth of the players. Obviously, it is a new team, new system, new people and new coach. The players did a good job in the first session and they nearly did what I wanted them to. I know that that it is going to take them a little while for the players to understand me and me to understand them.
 
“Our main aim is obviously to play well. We will try and push Iran and other two teams but whether we are ready to do that yet, only time can tell. It is too early for us to sort of say where we are and what we can do. We are approaching it the right way and the players need to commit to what we can do.
 
“I saw Iraq during the FIBA Asia Cup 2017. Qatar played against them. They have got naturalised coaches working with them. Now we have got the first round of games and we have got a little bit of time to see how we look in these matches. I feel that obviously there is an opportunity in the group for us to move forward. It will eventually come down to how we commit to what I am trying to put out for them.
 
“Iran are one of the top teams in the world and they have got some talented players. It is a progressive nation and the sport has really blossomed there. It is one of the tough teams you have got to compete with in Asia. They just made the finals (FIBA Asia Cup 2017) and lost to Australia, which shows their development programme. I think that Iran and Kazakhstan are also in the situation similar to ourselves, in terms of moving and growing the sport.”
 
On the QBF:
“The QBF has been super supportive. They have been great so far. They have vision and an idea about what they want and how they want to achieve it. We will have to give some time before comes to fruition.”
 
 
On the first impressions about Qatar:
“It has been great. The federation people have been awesome in terms of making sure that I am looked after very well and taken care of. The people have been really friendly. It is an easy place to be. You can have everything you want here. The weather is great. The first impression is fantastic. I am looking forward to spending more time here. I would love to go out and see the museum and all here.

 
On being appointed just before the qualifiers:
“You can always say you want more time or you want more of this or that. But we have to be realistic. This is the time we have and we have to work within these limitations. I feel we still have enough time to work with the team and make the most of that. It is not that the players have to do conditioning and all. They have been in good shape, having spent time with their respective clubs.  It is just about implementing the system that I want to run.
“Maybe we will need just some fraction of something and hopefully that will be enough in the first round. Then we have some time between February and July that can be used to prepare the team well. We just want to get out of the couple of games well and then we want to see our progression and growth.
 
On his future plans:
I have had some great opportunities in the USA, Egypt, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. In Qatar, the league will go from strength to strength. We have got some young talent that has been been cultivated. From next year to 18 months, I would like to see the young players involved in the men’s team and it is important to have one or two those young kids be involved in the game situations at the opportune moments.
“There is going to be a transition here as some older guys are going to hang up their boots and then somebody from the younger generation has to come through. You have a good core group here as some young players have just started to be at the forefront of the national team. They are still 21, 22 or 24. Then if some of the next younger generation can join the team, it will be quite interesting.”