Aline Bannayan, The Jordan Times

AMMAN — The 24th FIBA Asia Champions Cup opens in Amman on Friday with nine teams competing.

Jordan’s reigning champs Applied Science University (ASU) will play in Group A alongside Iran’s Foolad Mahan, Syria’s Jeish, Bahrain’s Hala and Mongolia’s Branchos. Group B includes Qatar’s Rayyan, Iraq’s Duhok, Kazakstan’s Capchagay and India’s ONGC. The Philippines withdrew last week.

ASU played three friendlies in Turkey and beat Bahrain’s Hala prior to the event. Head coach Murad Barakat and team officials were confident ASU was ready to take on the guest teams.

Their main competitors are expected to be Iran’s Mahan now that Lebanese teams are out of the competition due to the country’s suspension by FIBA.

Mahan enters the event as the top team of the zone and includes many of Iran’s players who won the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Basketball Championship. The club, formed two years ago, qualified to the event after eliminating Iran’s Super League champions Petrochimi in a three-way tie which also featured Lebanon’s Champville.

Clubs from Iran have played the finals in the past six previous editions of this event, winning four times. Mahan’s coach Mohsen Sadeghzadeh was quoted by the FIBA ASIA website as saying: “Our target too is to take home the title.”

The Champions Cup is the Asian club championship organised by FIBA Asia. Zain are the only Jordanian team to have won the title when they captured the 17th Champions Cup in 2006. They finished runner-up in 2005 and 2009.

East Asian teams had a grip on the title until 1999 when Lebanon’s Sagesse (Hikmeh) won and went on to hold the record for three-time wins, from then on, teams from Arab countries won the title until Iran’s Saba Battery won in 2007 and 2008, and Mehram in 2009 and 2010.

Jordanian teams first took part in the Champions Cup in 1988 when Orthodoxi competed in Jakarta and finished fifth. Ahli took part in 1995 in Malaysia and finished fourth, and Orthodoxi took part in 1996 and 1999 finishing sixth.

Champions Cup record

1981
    

Bayi Rockets (China)

1984
    

Northern Cement (Philippines)

1988
    

Swift (Philippines)

1990
    

Liaoning Hunters (China)

1992
    

Kia Motors (South Korea)

1995
    

Andok's (Philippines)

1996
    

Hapee Toothpaste (Philippines)

1997
    

Regal (Chinese Taipei)

1998
    

Beijing Hanwei (China)

1999
    

Sagesse (Lebanon)

2000
    

Sagesse (Lebanon)

2001
    

Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)

2002
    

Rayyan (Qatar)

2003
    

Wihda (Syria)

2004
    

Sagesse (Lebanon)

2005
    

Rayyan (Qatar)

2006
    

Fastlink (Jordan)

2007
    

Saba Battery (Iran)

2008
    

Saba Battery  (Iran)

2009
    

Mahram (Iran)

2010
    

Mahram (Iran)

2011
    

Riyadi (Lebanon)

2012
    

Riyadi (Lebanon), Mahram (Iran)