This year's Asian Cup should be a bumper year for Lebanon. With the retirement of "Asia's no. 1 small striker" Fadi Hattib, Lebanon lost to Australia by only two points in the championship match, and some of them took the runner-up in a small upset, writing the best result in team history since 2007.
Vael Araki, who had high hopes five years ago, successfully took over the ace role, averaging 26.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game, including the league's top scorer, MVP and best five.
Vaer Araqui is not particularly outstanding in terms of height or congenital physical fitness, so why did he become the MVP of this Asian Cup and lead Lebanon all the way to the final?
Both appearance and style are like "Uncle Community", vaal Araqui's singles moves analysis
The posture is not solid, even a little bloated, the hairline is still a little high Vael Araki, the appearance looks like the uncle of the community, and many of his playing styles are the necessary moves for those who play the old ball skin in the bullring all day, such as this move "Sky Hook".
"Sky hook" is a lost art, let alone a defender, even in the elderly is not easy to see, but it is a must-kill skill of Vaer Araqui.
Va'el Araki is called the "Lebanese Demon Knife" not only because he is left-handed like Ginobili and his eerie pace, but also because he is similar to Ginobili, and Vaer Araki is also a master of European steps.
However, compared to the general European step, which is vertical and aims to directly pound the basket, Vael Araki adds more horizontal elements to the European step.
Mediocre in stature, ordinary explosiveness, relying on "rhythm" to kill a piece of the sky
In addition to having ginobili-like sharp steps, Vael Araki's use of rhythmic transformations is as skilled as Luka Doncic. Since Vaal Araqui's stature is not very solid and his physical strength is not top-notch, it is unlikely to rely on his body to crush his opponents when cutting in, and it is difficult to shake off defenders through starting explosive force. The use of start and pause to change the rhythm and create a speed difference became his weapon for survival on the court. Vaal Araqui can not only cut in with rhythmic shifts, but also create peripheral gaps.
Even if you don't have the ball, it's still a powerful threat
Vael Alaqui's singles skills with the ball are excellent, but he is equally threatening in the absence of the ball. As a double-powered defender, he can not only organize with the ball, but also act as an ambush shooter. For example, in the championship match against Australia, because Vaer Araki was strictly guarded by the other side, the coaching team deliberately arranged for him to serve as the second position, ambushed in the distance, and tried to alleviate the pressure he faced, which achieved good results, Vael Araki's three-point shots of 6 and 5 shots, creating a new personal high in this tournament. In addition, his empty-handed position awareness is also quite good.
Organizational stability that cannot be ignored
Perhaps because his scoring ability is too good, it seems that it is easy to overlook Vael Araki's organizational ability. He averaged 4.0 assists at the tournament and is The Lebanese leader in assists. It is worth noting that his assist-to-turnover ratio is 3.3, which is no different from that of Japanese point guard Tomoki Tomiki Tomiki (3.6), and even ranks in the top five among all the players who have advanced to the quarterfinals.
Big heart at key moments, Vaer Araqui's star traits
Vaer Araqui is most amazing about his big heart, and whenever it comes to a decisive moment, he always withstands the pressure and hits the key ball. For example, in the semifinals against Jordan, the game counted down to 11.8 seconds of the advance riding archery; the championship against Australia, he scored 5 points in 20 seconds down to the game, and almost led the team to reverse the king, which scared Australia out of a cold sweat.
From the data point of view, he averaged 22.5 points per game in the group stage and shot 45.7% from the shooting rate, but since the eight-round qualifiers with higher intensity and elimination pressure, his performance has improved, averaging 28.3 points and 55.6%. The more important the game, the more it can stimulate his potential and fully demonstrate the value of the star.
The unfulfilled dream of Fadi Hatib, the relay of a new generation of ace Va'el Araki, continues
When the 2017 Asian Cup ended and Fadi Khatib announced his retirement from the national team, he wrote on his personal social platform: "Throughout my career, I have never been able to win the Asian Cup, which is an eternal pain in my heart. ”
Although Lebanon still passed the champions in this Asian Cup, it showed endless hope, including the more technical arledge replacing Norvel Pelle as a naturalized player, several green leaf Sergio El Darwich, Hayk Gyokchyan, Ali Haidar also played well, and most importantly, the explosive growth of Vael Araki.
Perhaps in the near future, The Unfulfilled Dream of Fadi Khatib will finally fulfill his wish.