Ali Maali (Dubai)
The basketball team will meet at seven o’clock tomorrow evening, “Friday”, with the Lebanese Beirut in the quarter-finals of the “32nd edition” of Dubai International, which will be held at Al-Nasr Club in Dubai, with the participation of 9 teams.
It is expected that the match will come strong, because the Lebanese team is considered one of the candidates to win the title, after the outstanding level it showed, which made it lead the top of the second group, despite the strength of its competitors, Al-Riyadi Al-Lebanese, Moroccan Sala, and Tunisian Sfaxien.
The match is important for our team in the preparation phase, before participating in the second round of the Asian qualifiers with its new system, which is scheduled for the Qatari capital, Doha, on February 20.
And our team achieved a single victory in the first group against the Syrian unit, and Al-Abyad showed cohesion in that match, and Dr. Mounir bin Al-Habib, the coach of the national team, seeks to get the maximum benefit from participating in the tournament.
The Lebanese Dynamo will also play with Morocco’s Sale at nine o’clock in the evening, and the two promoted players from today’s matches will meet in the “Golden Square” tomorrow.
For his part, Major General “M” Ismail Al-Gergawi, Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee of the Championship and President of the UAE and Arab Basketball Federations, confirmed that the goals of the Dubai Championship, which has gained wide fame and good reputation, in Arab, continental and international circles, lie in providing opportunities for friction for all participating teams, including the national team. The UAE is to prepare for the continental and international events, and to make the public happy, away from any tension, because there is no loser in the end, as long as the goal is benefit and friction.
Al-Gergawi said: The championship has become a focus of interest from Arab and foreign federations, and it is natural for teams to rush to reserve a place for them in the international event, and companies and institutions are racing to sponsor and market clubs, taking advantage of the media momentum and television broadcasts.
Regarding the national team, Major General Al-Qarqawi said: It is not required to achieve the impossible or to achieve results, in light of the disparity in capabilities with other teams that include elite local and foreign players, while the national team relies on young elements and enters the current tournament, without key players as a result of injury.
Al-Gergawi praised the role of the administrative and technical staff in preparing “Al-Abyad” for the West Asian qualifiers that will be held this month, and the technical director, Dr. Munir bin Habib, was keen to include 20 players in international matches in Dubai, to settle on the starting line-up for the Asian qualifiers, pointing to the development of performance. team from game to game.
Al-Gergawi received the Lebanese ambassador to the country, Fouad Dandan, during the Al-Riyadi and Beirut match, where the ambassador congratulated the basketball on the success of the current Dubai International Championship, and said: The continuation of the great sporting event for more than three decades is evidence of the international reputation that the championship has gained throughout these years. Until it became the focus of interest for Arab and continental clubs and teams.
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