BOCAUE – Jordanian national team head coach Wesam Al-Sous believes the country’s pulsating 91-90 victory over Gilas Pilipinas on Monday made the squad even stronger mentally and emotionally as a group.

Jordan had to battle adversity before being able to fend off the Philippines in the sixth window of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers, winning by the slimmest of margins, 91-90.

“(The) game was two parts. The first part, we played really good. We shot the ball so well. We came ready for the game,” Al-Sous, a former long-time national team stalwart himself, said.

“We knew it’s important because the Philippines beat us at home, and we were determined to get that win back,” he added, referring to Gilas’ win over Jordan in the previous window in Amman back in November 2022.

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The visitors held as much as a 25-point cushion in the first half, but Gilas brought their never-say-die spirit to make the ballgame competitive.

In the fourth quarter of the match, Jamie Malonzo’s tip-in knotted the count at 88-all with under two minutes left to play. However, Jordan’s Freddy Ibrahim would respond with a free throw and then assisted Caden Al-Najdawi’s dunk to give themselves a three-point separation.

Ibrahim, who finished with 19 points and eight assists, took note of the Filipino crowd’s passion for Gilas. Such an atmosphere and how Jordan managed to hurdle the challenge, he thinks, are aspects Jordan needs to be accustomed to when it plays in the World Cup later in the year.

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“This (felt like) the first game of the World Cup, this is how it’ll feel,” the 6-foot-3 guard admitted.
The team’s response to the home side’s furious rally, Ibrahim adds, is a testament to Jordan’s growth in terms of mental toughness.

“We can play in this gym, we can play the Philippines, who knows, right? And that’s how the atmosphere was today,” he said.

“I’m happy we had to deal with adversity and for us to will that win towards the end and stick together and not blame each other, that means we grew a lot since the beginning that we met.”

By sweeping its two games in the final window over India on Friday, 98-63 and the Philippines, Jordan likewise concluded its qualifiers journey with a 6-4 record in Group E. Prior, the Middle Eastern side did not have any pressure, having already qualified due to Saudi Arabia’s inferior record.

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But for Ibrahim, the team's collective success over the last five days is a meaningful way to gauge their readiness for the World Cup.

“We actually qualified before playing any games. That says a lot about us. Forget that we qualified because Saudi Arabia lost. We earned it now. We deserve to be here,” he said.

“We can go back and no one will tell us anything about because they lost, we’re in and this and that. I think we proved ourselves in this window. Last impression. Moving forward, we’re just going to build on this, hopefully.”

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With the long-term goal not finished yet, Al-Sous is thankful for the experience of being able to play in the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena, taking lessons with them back home in the process.

“It’s hard in this atmosphere to completely settle the guys down. So this game, I think we will leave stronger than when we came into it,” Al-Sous said.

“I’m proud of these guys. It’s not just about this game, it’s about the whole journey to make it to the World Cup, starting from federation, to the players and coaches, (we all) sacrificed a lot of things to make it happen for a small country like Jordan to be among the top 32 teams.”

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