ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Before heading to Indonesia to begin the FIBA Basketball World Cup next week, Lebanon’s national team was assigned warm-up games against Eygpt’s senior team, Mexico’s senior team and a group of guys who average about 20 years old.
It won’t be fooled.
Lebanon guard Sergio El Darwish said he’s well aware of how good the Arizona Wildcats are, having played college basketball at South Dakota State and Maine through 2019-20. El Darwich and former Villanova big man Omari Spellman are the only former college players on the Lebanon roster, but El Darwich said his teammates understand the college game.
WATCH LIVE: Arizona takes on Lebanon Saturday at 6 a.m. (MST)
“Everyone follows, everyone watches,” El Darwich said. “Everybody is aware of the level of the college basketball teams. So we’re not gonna come here just to play against college kids. We’re gonna come play against NBA talents. NBA prospects.”
Lebanon coach Jad El Hajj said he asked to play one extra game before the World Cup after facing Egypt and Mexico, receiving Arizona while Mexico was assigned to play Kansas State, beating those Wildcats 83-81 on Thursday.
El Darwich said he’s been looking forward to facing Arizona, in part because he played at Maine with UA guard Pelle Larsson’s brother, Vilgot, but also because of the competition.
The Wildcats aren’t a national team, aren’t old and haven’t been playing together for years and years. They also have seven new guys this season.
But they’re talented, El Darwich said.
“I’ve been waiting for this game. It will be very exciting,” El Darwich said. “The Arizona team is a great team. One of the Top 25. They’re young and they’re going to be hungry. You have to come ready because if you don’t come early, they’re gonna take over and they’re gonna beat us.”
Arizona’s Kylan Boswell goes sky high during the Wildcats’ exhibition win over UAE Select in the Mubadala Dome in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
At the same time, though, the Wildcats have been aiming for Lebanon, which should give them their stiffest test of the three exhibition games they are playing on their trip through Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
“I think it’ll be good for us, playing against real grown men, pros, who have been playing the game,” UA guard Caleb Love said. “Also, it’s seeing how we overcome adversity when that hits, because there may be a time in the game where they go on a run. The last two games, we really didn’t face any adversity as far as the competition here.”
Arizona’s Filip Borovicanin drives past a UAE Select defender during the Wildcats’ 127-90 victory Thursday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Borovicanin’s statline was well rounded yet again. He scored 17 points while collecting nine rebounds and dishing five assists.
Arizona beat Israel Select 124-77 on Monday in Tel Aviv and UAE Select 127-90 on Thursday, largely without any detailed scouting. But this time, they’ve actually had staffers do a little background research, and Love has soaked it up.
“They’ve got a couple of good guards … and they have these two bigs who like to step out and shoot,” Love said. “And on the defensive end, they like to gamble a lot. They like to pressure the ball. So we’re looking forward to being poised on offensive end and not turning the ball over.”
Spellman, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, sat out Lebanon’s 88-70 loss to Mexico on Thursday with a minor hand injury, but El Hajj said he would play against the Wildcats.
A livestream of Saturday's game
The Arizona men's basketball team gets in its final warmup prior to the Wildcats facing UAE Select in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Video by Bruce Pascoe/Arizona Daily Star
