Syria's national basketball team (), nicknamed Nosour Qasioun (Qasioun Eagles), represents Syria in international basketball competitions.Profile – Syria, FIBA.com, Retrieved 29 January 2022. The squad is governed by SBF, and is part of the FIBA Asia zone. Based on the number of overall medals won, Syria is a major force among basketball teams of WABA and ABC. The team has won eight medals at the WABA Championship and five at the Arab Basketball Championship.
Syria has qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup seven times and one time for EuroBasket throughout their history. Their best tournament result was the 4th place finish at the 2001 FIBA Asia Cup. However, Syria still seeks qualification for their first appearance to the FIBA World Cup and Olympics.
History It was created in 1948 and is one of the oldest FIBA Asia teams on the continent, although in its first years of existence it only managed to participate in the Pan Arab Games. Syria participated in the EuroBasket 1949, winning only match out of six against Lebanon.
Its first appearance at the FIBA Asia Championship was at the 1999 edition in Fukuoka, Japan where they finished in eighth place.
The team had its best year in 2001, when it finished in the Final Four of the Asian Basketball Championship in Shanghai, China.
In November 2021, FIBA lifted the ban on Syrian stadiums, which was issued due to the war in the country, and therefore for the first time in 10 years, an international match could take place. It took place on 29 November 2021 at the Al-Fayhaa Sports Arena in Damascus, where a men's basketball team played 2023 FIBA World Cup qualification match against Kazakhstan.
In early December 2021, the Syrian Basketball Federation confirmed Syria's return to the Arab Nations Championship in the UAE which will take place 9 to 16 February 2022. Syria had been absent from the event for ten years because of the Syrian war.
Competition record FIBA Asia Cup
YearPositionEurope 19496th615Asia 1960Part of United Arab Republic 1963did not enter 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 19998th place615 20014th place743 20039th place734 2005did not enter 200711th place734 2009did not enter 20119th place844 2013did not enter 2015did not qualify 201710th place413 202212th place413 202516th place3032029To be determinedTotal8/31 46 17 29
FIBA Asia Challenge
YearRankPldWL 20044th place523 2008did not qualify 201010th place 5 05 2012did not qualify 2014 2016Total2/61028
West Asian Basketball Championship
YearRankPldWL 1999Champions440 2000Runners-up422 2001Champions431 2002did not enter––– 2004Runners-up4–– 2005did not enter––– 20083rd place312 20103rd place312 20113rd place312 20124th place523 2013did not enter––– 20143rd place532 20154th place413 20165th place404 20175th place514Total12/15481925
Asian Games
YearRankPldWL 1951did not qualify 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 200610th place 9 4 5 2010did not qualify 2014 20186th place 4 1 3 2022did not qualify 2026 Total 2/20 13 5 8
West Asian Games
YearRankPldWL 1997did not qualify 20023rd place 4 22 20053rd place 6 42Total2/31064
Mediterranean Games
YearRankPldWL 19517th place––– 1955did not qualify 1959Part of United Arab Republic 1963did not qualify 1967 19715th place––– 1975did not qualify 1979 1983 19875th place––– 1991did not qualify 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2018 Replaced by 3x3 Basketball Events 2022 2026Total3/17---
Arab Championship
YearRankPldWL 1974did not enter 1975 1978 1981 1983 1985Championship cancelled 1987did not enter 1989Withdrew from the tournament 1991Runners-up––– 1992Champions––– 19943rd place––– 1997Runners-up––– 19993rd place––– 2000did not enter 2002 2005 2007 20084th place––– 20094th place––– 2010did not enter 2015 2017 2018 2022Withdrew from the tournament 2023did not enter 2025Total7/24---
Pan Arab Games
YearRankPldWL 1953Runners-up––– 1957Runners-up––– 1961did not enter 19653rd place––– 1976Championship cancelled 19854th place––– 1992Champions––– 1997Runners-up––– 19994th place––– 2004did not enter 2007 2011Withdrew from the tournamentTotal7/12---
Islamic Solidarity Games
YearRankPldWL 20057th place 734 2013did not qualify 2017 Replaced by 3x3 Basketball EventsTotal1/2734
EuroBasket 1949 Syria once appeared at the European championships, namely at the Eurobasket 1949, held in Cairo, Egypt. The refusal of the Soviet Union to host the competition and FIBA Europe's unwillingness to ask Czechoslovakia to host consecutive tournaments meant that 1947 bronze medallist Egypt hosted the competition. Due to travel difficulties and fears, few European teams would travel to the African country to compete. Syria, as well as Lebanon, were asked to compete in the European championship despite being Asian countries.
In the seven team round robin tournament, the Syrians finished with a 1–5 record and finished in sixth place. Team roster: 4 Shawki, 5 Khayat, 6 Nashawi, 7 Fo. Habash, 8 Abouhitian, 9 Qoudsi, 10 Sharaf, 11 Fe. Habash, 12 Shukri, 13 Nael, 14 Mashnouq, 15 Tinawi
Team Current roster Roster for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.
Past rosters 2022 FIBA Asia Cup
2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FIBA Executive Committee decided that for the 2020 November window games will be held at a single venue under a bubble format.
Venue: Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall, Doha
Opposition: Qatar (28 November) Opposition: Iran (30 November)
2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification
Opposition: Iran (20 February) Venue: Azadi Basketball Hall, Tehran Opposition: Saudi Arabia (23 February) Venue: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
Roster for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.2017 FIBA Asia Cup roster
At the 2017 WABA Championship:tab=roster Syria, FIBA.com, accessed 2 June 2017.
Depth chart
Head coach position Pat Elzie – 2003 Mohamed Abo Sada – 2007 Imad Othman – 2009 Hady Darwish – 2010 Mensur Bajramović – 2011 Goran Miljević – 2011 Imad Othman – 2012–2014 Hady Haj Darwish – 2014–2017 Nenad Krdžić – 2017 Veselin Matić – 2017–2019 Joe Salerno – 2021–2022 Javier Juárez Crespo – 2022–present
Kit Manufacturer 2017–present: Adidas
See also Syria national under-19 basketball team Syria national under-17 basketball team Syria women's national basketball team
References
External links
FIBA profile FIBA Europe EuroBasket 1949
Videos Philippines vs Syria HL FIBA Champions Cup 2011 YouTube.com video