WUHAN, Hubei province - Finally, they did what they were supposed to do at the FIBA Asian Championship. Feeling "sick" about scuttling its first two preliminary games with deliberate fouls, Qatar's only five available players chose to fight to the end in their last group match against Chinese Taipei.

"It was an ordinary game, but it was a big statement game to show Qatar is here. We showed to the fans, the media and FIBA, what you saw in the last two games was not Qatar, it must have been somebody else," said Qatari guard Abdulrahman Saad after losing to Chinese Taipei, 94-78, on Saturday.

Protesting a FIBA ban on five of its naturalized players, the remaining Qatari players purposely fouled out to end its first two games, against Uzbekistan and Iran, in a premature and ugly way.

However, the Qatari players felt regret after following their coach's (Ali Ahmad Fakhroo) instructions to intentionally lose games and reached a consensus to play a "real game" on Saturday morning after meeting with the coach.

Saad, who played all 40 minutes and scored 18 points, said the decision came from an ethical standpoint, and not from any FIBA pressure.

"Nobody (from FIBA) told us what we should do. It was just a matter of sportsmanship. We think it was the wrong way in the last two games. It was not fair for the fans, for the Chinese people who bought tickets to see a match. We felt really bad about the first two games we played. Some of us even couldn't sleep and felt sick," Saad said.

Qatari center Omar Salem echoed his teammate's sentiments.

"We have to apologize to the fans. What we did was not basketball. We hope FIBA will make a better rule on that (nationality). We will keep playing this way in the 13th-16th classification. At least, it will be a real game and we hope to win back respect," said Salem, who scored a team-high 30 points.

Although disappointed about the suspension of five teammates, the remaining Qatari players were keen to show their best, said Abdalla Khalid Adam, who ran out of gas and got leg cramps in the fourth quarter, when Qatar played with only four players for several minutes.

However, undermanned Qatar's efforts won thunderous applause from the crowd. Boasting greater size and strength, the Qatar team scored 34 points in the paint and grabbed 55 rebounds to dominate the boards while only allowing its opponent 26 points in the key. Its tough defense forced Chinese Taipei into many 24-second violations and the team cut down the margin to three points several times.

"Honestly, we tried to (win). But it's difficult to play without giving up fouls or making substitutions. You have to play a perfect match in which you don't miss shots. You have to get the energy to play 40 minutes of offence and defense," said Saad.

"We played with no pressure we just had fun and played like a team," Salem said.

Chinese Taipei's coach, Chou Chuan-san, praised his opponent and felt it was a shame not to play against the team's best lineup.

China Daily

(China Daily 09/18/2011 page7)