“King of Threes” Mizo Amin led Qatar National Basketball team into the final round of FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers after defeating Iraq in the crucial match.
Before we dive into the story, let us breakdown the stats of Mizo Amin aka Mohamed Hassan A MOHAMED in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.
Do or Die Situation
The game against Iraq was critical for Qatar as their future in the world cup qualifier depends on it after losing to Iran at the last moment. Qatar must win this game at any cost to progress to the final round of the qualifier. A draw is not enough for Qatar. The game was adamant, both the teams were scoring quickly one by one, as it was a game of equals but Qatar has a slight advantage because of the home support. After playing full time the score was tie (77 each) so the game was forced into extra time. During the extra time, King of Threes (KO3) Mizo Amin single-handled controlled the game pressure by scoring 16 points and led Qatar into the final round of the qualifier by scoring the winning 3 point shot at the crucial time.
“My mentality was to win the game by any means necessary because it was a do or die situation for the whole country”, stated by the captain of Qatar National Basketball team, Mizo Amin after the game.
Approach to the game
The latest performance states otherwise, but creating and scoring open three points was Mizo Amin’s style. His game plan was to play defense first and then counter-attacking and scoring long-distance three-point shots to keep the game equal until the last quarter. He also created many chances for his teammates and played tough defense. Furthermore, he acted like an unbreakable wall. He was named the best three-point shooter in the gulf region. The game plan was very successful, it keeps the game in their hand. But at the dying moments, Iraq scored, pushing the game into extra time.
Extra Time Situation
In the last minutes of the 4th quarter, Iraq has the chance to tie the game. They utilized this situation and tied the match, forcing the game into extra time. After this situation, the teammates were very disappointed and keeps their heads down because they had a lead and they lost it. At this time Iraq had the best opportunity to win the game because they were able to tie the game. During the time out, Mizo Amin encouraged his teammates and told them that this is their house and this is their game. He told them we still have five minutes to decide the fate of the game. He believes that as a team leader this is what his teammates have to hear from him. These words from the captain had a great impact on the players and started the extra time really strongly. Mizo Amin played excellently in the extra time by handling game pressure single-handedly, motivating his players, and led Qatar into the final round of the world cup qualifiers by making the winning 3 points shot at the crucial time.
After the game coach, Tim Lewis mentioned the scarifies of the teammates and big shot hit by the Mizo Amin to save the team from disqualification. Qatar team celebrated the win and everyone was happy and excited.
Mizo Amin loves to read and believes that ” A Leader is a Reader”. His favorite quote is from Paulo Coelho, “Be brave take risks nothing can substitute experience”
