The Afghanistan men's national basketball team () is the men's national basketball team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan National Basketball Federation. Afghanistan joined FIBA and became a member of FIBA Asia in 1968. Afghanistan won the

2010 South Asian Games The 2010 South Asian Games, officially the XI South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event that took place from 29 January to 8 February 2010 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This was the third time that the Bangladeshi capital hosted the South Asian ...

, becoming the first sports team to win gold in the nation's history.

History

Early history

Basketball was first played in Afghanistan in 1936. In 1966, the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee (ANOC) founded the first national basketball team after receiving challenges from India and Pakistan. Tom Gouttierre, an American Peace Corps volunteer and coach of the team at Habibia High School, became the first coach. Using detailed, confidential instructions from

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

, the Afghanistan team became the only other to run the famous UCLA

zone press A full-court press is a basketball term for a defensive style in which the defense applies pressure to the offensive team the entire length of the court before and after the inbound pass. Pressure may be applied man-to-man, or via a zone press us ...

. Although the international games were canceled, in 1969 Gouttierre returned on a Fulbright Fellowship and again became the Habibia coach, and in 1970

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...

of the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

tutored the team while visiting the country. That year China challenged the ANOC. Because of the lack of preparation time, Gouttierre decided that current and former Habibia players were the best choice for a second Afghanistan national team. Using the zone press, it defeated a much larger Chinese team in Parwan Province in the Afghanistan team's first international victory.

FIBA Asia Cup

Afghanistan has failed to qualify for the

FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourn ...

, while as well as only entering in the qualification rounds only once in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

when they entered in the South Asian Basketball Association Qualifying Round. Afghanistan would defeat Nepal before losing to India and failing to qualify for the Asia Cup. This is their only appearance in FIBA Asia Cup qualification rounds to date.

Asian Games

Afghanistan has made two brief appearance in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Both times the men's national team would struggle for success and failing to qualify outside the first round in both years respectively. The 2010 edition would be marked as the last time Afghanistan has played any competitive men's national teams games.

South Asian Games

Afghanistan would see their best success in international competition in the form of the

edition of the South Asian Games. They would defeat India and claim gold in what has been their only appearance in the South Asian Games to date.

Competitive record

Summer Olympics

FIBA World Cup

FIBA Asia Cup

Asian Games

*1970-2002 : ''Did not qualify'' *2006 : 13th *2010 : 13th *2014-2022 : ''Did not qualify''

South Asian Games

Honours

* South Asian Games **Gold Medal:

Coaches

Head Coach:* Mamo Rafiq – 2007-now Assistant Coach: * Abdul Wasi Pazhman - 2010 Assistant Coach: * Leo Balayon - 2009

2010 team

The following twelve players were named to the roster for the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

Depth chart

External links

Asia-basket - Afghanistan Men National TeamPresentation on Facebook

Videos

Afghanistan Basketball Team
Youtube.com video

References

{{National sports teams of Afghanistan Men's national basketball teams Basketball Basketball teams in Afghanistan Basketball in Afghanistan 1966 establishments in Afghanistan

History

Early history

FIBA Asia Cup

Asian Games

South Asian Games

Competitive record

Summer Olympics

FIBA World Cup

FIBA Asia Cup

Asian Games

South Asian Games

Honours

Coaches

2010 team

Depth chart

See also

External links

Videos

References