Ali Mansour (Arabic: علي منصور, 1 January 1998) is a Lebanese professional basketball player for the Al Riyadi Club Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League, and for the Lebanon national team.[3][4] Mansour was named MVP in the 2016 Under 18 Arab Basketball Championship, and Best point guard in the 2021 Eurasian League Basketball championship. He is widely regarded as one of the best guards in the Lebanese league.[5][6][7]
 Ali Mansour in 2022 | |
| No. 10 – Al Riyadi Club Beirut | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Lebanese Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 1 January 1998 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Nationality | Lebanese |
| Listed height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) |
| Career history | |
| 2018–2020 | Hoops Club (Lebanon)[1] |
| 2019–2020 | Al-Gharafa SC (Qatar)[2] |
| 2020–2021 | Naft Al-Shamal SC (Iraq)[2] |
| 2020–present | Al Riyadi Beirut (Lebanon)[1] |
Early life and education
editMansour was born on 1 January 1998. He attended Collège Elite, a French international school in Beirut, and started playing basketball at the age of ten.[5][6]
In 2014, Mansour received a scholarship to complete his secondary education in the US at the Genesis Academy in Lynchburg, VA, and joined the school’s basketball team.[5] The next year, Mansour was offered a scholarship at Conrad Academy in Orlando, FL. He had to drop the scholarship and return to Lebanon to play for the national team in the Under 18 Arab Basketball Championship, and the 2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship.[5][6][8]
Mansour graduated from the Lebanese American University in 2021.[9]
Basketball career
editJunior career
editMansour was drafted since his teens in the ranks of the Lebanese national team. In the 2015 Under 18 Arab Basketball Championship, Mansour was pivotal in helping the Lebanon men's national basketball team place second behind the Egypt’s national team.[5] The next year, Ali was named the tournament’s MVP.[5] In 2016, Mansour played in the FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship, where he was a top scorer for the Lebanese national team, and made it to the top-five players list of the tournament.[5][8][10][6]
Professional career
editMansour began playing professionally at the age of 18 for Louaize Club and stayed with the team until 2017. He signed with the Hoops Club where he was one of the top scorers; and stayed with the team for two years, where he scored his first triple-double against Sagesse SC in the Lebanese Basketball League championship, recording 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists.[7][11] Mansour was named All-Lebanese League Newcomer of the Year for his performance with Hoops.[12]
Between 2020 and 2021, Mansour played for Qatari Al-Gharafa SC, then Iraqi Naft Al-Shamal SC.[2] He joined Al Riyadi Club in 2020, where he plays point guard;[5] the club made first place at the 2021 Eurasian League Basketball championship,[13] and he was named Best Point Guard of the tournament.[5] Mansour was a top scorer for the Lebanon national team in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers; the national team qualified to the 2023 World Cup tournament for the first time since 2009, after defeating the Indian national team.[14][15]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b RealGM 2022.
- ^ a b c Euro Basket LLC 2021.
- ^ International Basketball Federation 2020.
- ^ Euro Basket LLC 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i MENA FN 2022.
- ^ a b c d Flavius 2022.
- ^ a b International Basketball Federation 2019a.
- ^ a b International Basketball Federation 2016.
- ^ Batakji 2022.
- ^ Gilas Pilipinas Basketball 2016.
- ^ International Basketball Federation 2019b.
- ^ Madwar 2020.
- ^ Shahbazyan 2021.
- ^ International Basketball Federation 2022a.
- ^ International Basketball Federation 2022b.
Sources
edit- Batakji, Raissa (25 July 2022). "LAU Champs Bring Pride and Hope to Lebanon". LAU. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- Euro Basket LLC (2021). "Ali Mansour Player Profile, Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut, News, Stats". Eurobasket. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- Euro Basket LLC (2022). "Ali Mansour Player Profile, Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut, News, Stats". Asia Basket. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- Flavius, Lou (6 January 2022). "Ali Mansour talks chasing World Cup Dream with his country". Talk Basket. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- Gilas Pilipinas Basketball (26 July 2016). "FIBA Asia U18 Day 3 Results and Standings". Gilas Pilipinas Basketball. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
- International Basketball Federation (2016). "Ali Mansour at the FIBA Asia U18 Championship 2016". FIBA. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- International Basketball Federation (2019a) [10 January 2019]. "Young stars Guo Haowen, Ali Mansour shine in Asian league action to start 2019". FIBA. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- International Basketball Federation (2019b) [14 January 2019]. "Fajardo, Lu Cheng-Ju, CLS Knights set records in Asian league action". FIBA. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- International Basketball Federation (2020). "Ali Mansour profile". FIBA. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
- International Basketball Federation (2022a) [29 August 2022]. "Lebanon qualify for first World Cup appearance in 13 years". FIBA. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- International Basketball Federation (2022b) [29 August 2022]. "India v Lebanon boxscore - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers - 29 August". FIBA. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- Madwar, Ahmad (28 February 2020). "Asian Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings". Asia basket. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- MENA FN (29 May 2022). "Ali Mansour, a path of success". MENA FN.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
- RealGM (2022). "Ali Mansour Player Profile". RealGM. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- Shahbazyan, Lusine (29 March 2021). "Eurasian League Basketball ends with victory of Lebanon's Al Riyadi in Yerevan". Sport News.am. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2022.