Here the question immediately arises, how can a country so small surpass countries that are larger in size and, of course, in economic potential, and how can a country with such a large population not find five great player to create a peaceful and strong team?
The answer is simple, because success has nothing to do with the size of a country’s population, or the number of sports they play, or the number of stadiums and clubs, or even, in some cases, the physique of people.
Someone may agree with this, and someone may discuss it, but the very bad examples of small countries like Lebanon have imposed themselves on the world in the world of “Basket” and become a difficult figure for them and an exporter of big stars at its strongest. championship, that is, e. The NBA, and perhaps Lithuania and Slovenia, are the most notable examples in this regard. And the reasons for their success in the orange round explain everything.
These two countries that emerged from the Soviet Union have gained world attention solely for basketball, although Slovenia has surpassed Lithuania in sporting success in various fields, including in the new millennium football when it qualified for in the 2000 European Cup and then twice for the world championship in 2002 and 2010. Looking at the numbers that Lithuania has a population of 2,750,000 and Slovenia has a population of 2,100,000, the question quickly arises: how did two great power these two countries? in the world of basketball, how is the first ranked ninth in the International Federation classification of the game, second fourth in the list?
Mana in Lithuania
The history of Lithuania’s success in basketball gives insight into the reasons for Lebanon’s success in this game. Here it is about heritage and succession, that is, this sport has become a “second religion” in the country, as it says, for a simple reason, that is, generations have inherited it since the beginning of the last century.
It is indeed a story, as any Lithuanian can tell the story of their country’s excellence in this regard, which began when people were introduced to basketball in the 1920s with the help of Lithuanian-American citizens, and quick success was achieved when the Lithuanian team won the European Championship in 1937. This title became a crossroads because parents started to encourage their children to play this game and grandparents requested it as a command from their children to push their grandchildren here, thus giving rise to a continuity automatically created by the universal system of the world in the country, because sports in many schools has become a game of basketball And nothing else!
Let’s take a concrete example of this phenomenon, the local “legend” Arvydas Sabonis, who starred in the American League from the mid-nineties to the beginning of the millennium, and now his son Domantas is following in his footsteps.
An old scene that shows the current situation we see in Lebanon, where the game enters schools and universities that organize serious tournaments that people join, while parents prefer their children to play the game at the expense of other sports. after they realized that it could provide them with a source of livelihood and prosperity.
Lithuania and Slovenia are examples of success, Salwa, similar to our Lebanese reality
In Lithuania, basketball has become a tool for self-success, just like the tool used by the Lebanese team at the height of the July 2006 war during the World Cup, as well as the tool used by our team today. overcome the difficult situation in which the country finds itself and give people new hope. This is the very hope Lithuania was looking for in basketball during the Soviet era, as the locals saw it as a tool to fight the “oppressive team”, as they called it, especially CSKA. who turned the streets into a desert in every battle with the enemy’s visitor. .
Of course, this success would not have happened if it weren’t for the natural talent of the Lithuanian players, followed by a generation of formidable physiques, which led many of them to the NBA, although this moment may not have been . decisive in terms of success, otherwise the Vikings are Norway or the countries that produce men with large bodies are the undisputed champions of the world. In other words, Lithuania can be compared to Brazil in football, because the DNA of its children consists of basketball, and the result is medals in all tournaments, including 3 EuroBasket titles.
Self-call in Slovenia
The same characteristic appeared in Slovenia, which produced Olympic athletes during the Yugoslav era. In fact, the captain of the Yugoslav national team (Ivo Dano), who won the 1970 Basketball World Cup, is a Slovene.
But what made basketball stronger was that it had a good ground to grow, in the sense that the game attracted the attention of capitalists and the economic cycle strengthened it, and it was able to maintain its financial level, even the country is not considered one. of the richest in Europe and has no production and economic capacity in the billion. You can see the same in Lebanon today, because despite the crisis and the low salva market, the game has remained attractive to investors, so the “fresh dollar” has finally returned here, and with it the local star is back. the stage and then the foreign element will return completely starting next season.
Of course, the return to Slovenia, which became the European champion 5 years ago, shows the importance of sport in general for the population of the country, where athletes are respected, and there is a wide and relatively stable support system to the institution through the state. triangle. , sports federations and clubs, brought Luka Doncic a star. At the age of 13, he moved to Real Madrid to become one of the biggest stars in the Giants League with what is now the Dallas Mavericks.
Lebanon set a difficult number in Asian basketball after defeating the continent’s best players.
As for the first motive for success, this is what can make any small country big in basketball or other fields, as some sources confirm that Slovenian sports are not often aimed at making money, they are working hard and with the motivation to prove something for themselves or their neighbors, based on a great ambition that drives parents, if necessary, to provide financial support for their children to continue the sport , which has been attractive to investors seeking to contribute to global success. through individual or team sports.
So, it is heritage, social culture and human mentality. Three reasons for success, and these three have become a necessity for Lebanese basketball, which is again moving towards the world, which is not surprising, given the knowledge of the history and reality of the game in our country, and after telling the ongoing story of the success of the Lithuanian and Slovenian models.
Fierce confrontation with India
Today at 16:00, the Lebanese basketball team will play with their Chinese counterpart in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup hosted by Indonesia. Following the results of the first round, the Lebanese team took the first place among the Asian countries participating in the tournament, ahead of Australia, second place, South Korea, fourth, Iran and fifth – New Zealand, due to the high performance in three tournament matches. . first round and in accordance with certain technical criteria.
Today, Lebanon is benefiting from its star Ali Haidar, who finally joined the national team after missing the first round of matches due to Corona virus infection.
Source: Al-Akhbar
