MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - The biggest continental tournament in this corner of the basketball world will unfold in a few weeks' time. Surely, the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship will unleash megatons of action as 16 teams from across the continent vie for a single outright berth to next year's Olympics in Brazil.

Needless to say, this tournament is going to be big, so I have taken it upon himself to detail some of the personalities to watch out for.

In my last column, I looked at some grizzled veterans who missed the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship but are set to make triumphant comebacks this year. In this piece, I will be writing about naturalized players who will make their debut appearances at Asia's flagship event in Changsha, China (23 September-3 October). These are guys who, by FIBA's standards, are not counted as locals or local-born, but are players who have earned the right to represent their respective "adopted" countries through the process of naturalization. By casual definition, these guys are imports, but some of them have actually imbibed the local culture deep enough that, by all intents and purposes, they have transcended that label of being "naturalized".

Time to meet them!

Loren Woods (Lebanon)
Woods, 37, has been a mainstay of Middle Eastern basketball since 2009, playing for some of the top teams in Iran and Lebanon. Not since the years of Joseph Vogel has Lebanon seen a dominant low post force, and they will need every bit of the 2.18m tall big man's imposing presence for a coveted top 3 finish in China. He has never played in any senior FIBA tournament before, but he did average 11.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game in his last complete pro season in Lebanon. He also shot 52 percent from the field. As the numbers suggest, Woods' worth won't come with his scoring, but more with his presence and activity on the defensive end. He'll need to produce at a consistent rate for Coach Veselin Matic's team if they are to really fulfill their potential. His age, however, is a big concern.

Alex Legion (Jordan)
Unlike Woods, the 26-year-old Legion is still just entering his physical prime, and, at least based on his recent highlights, he can get up and down the court and jump like crazy. This high-flying 1.95m swingman can shoot the three, making nearly two a game in his stints with CZG Veroli and Lighthouse Trapani in the second division of the Italian hoops scene. He averaged 21.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game in his latest stint for both Veroli and Trapani and he was as great in leading Jordan to a second-place finish in the most recent West Asia Basketball Association (WABA) Championship. I expect he will be a more dangerous offensive weapon than Jordan's naturalized player in 2013 - Jimmy Baxter.

Trey Johnson (Qatar)
Unlike most of the other naturalized players on this list, Johnson has actually played for Qatar in an official FIBA Asia tournament - the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo, Japan. He last played in the NBA for the New Orleans Hornets, appearing in 11 games and averaging 1.9 points in 5.5 minutes of action per contest in the 2011-2012 season. More recently, the 1.96m journeyman saw action for the Hitachi Sunrockers in Japan's NBL, putting up just under 10 points, around 3 rebounds and 3 assists as the club made the playoffs. At 31, Johnson seems to be half a step slower than he was when he last donned the Qatari kit, so it’ll be interesting if he can still make a big impact for the team this year.

Moon Tae-Young (Korea) - 197cm (6ft 6in), 37 years old
Unlike all the other guys on this list, Moon, formerly Gregory Stevenson, actually has Korean blood running through his veins. He has been instrumental for his KBL team, Ulsan Mobis Phoebus, in their last couple of title runs, and will inherit the mantle of the Taeguk Warriors' naturalized player from his older brother, Moon Tae-Jong. Tae-Young promises to bring more versatility and athleticism to the fore for the Kim Dong-Kwang-coached squad. The 37-year-old attacks the basket ferociously and finishes well, while also able to hit the long bomb. Standing 1.97m tall, he also has good size at the wing spot and should be among Korea's best players at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship.

Andray Blatche (Philippines)
Of course, one can no longer talk about naturalized players in Asia without mentioning the former Washington Wizard and Brooklyn Net Andray Blatche, who tore up the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup as a member of Gilas Pilipinas. Blatche, 29, has been training with the Philippines team for about a month now, and they recently played in a pocket tournament in Estonia. The 2.10m big man looks like he put on a lot of weight, though, so the jury is still out on whether we will get to see him dominate in Changsha as he did in Spain and in the CBA. Needless to say, however, he will be a big boost to the Filipinos' chances of booking a ticket to the 2016 Olympics.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.