Dubai Basketball Team.. A Dream Journey from Arena to NBA

Dubai (Al-Ittihad)

The Dubai Basketball Team, founded and chaired by Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah, will participate in the Adriatic Basketball League matches in its 2024-2025 season. The first competition will be held against the Serbian team “Red Star” on September 22 at the Coca-Cola Arena, which has a capacity of 14,000 spectators. The Adriatic Basketball League matches are considered a qualifying round for the European Basketball League, which is the second largest and most important professional basketball league after the National Basketball Association in North America, the NBA.
A distinguished squad of 12 players from eight countries, including the Philippines, Turkey, the United States, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Jordan and Turkey, has been formed for this historic season, and many are looking forward to playing in front of their home fans at the Coca-Cola Arena. “Playing for this club means a lot to me. I love new challenges, and it is great to be part of a team that includes great players, some of whom I look up to. Representing Dubai and the Philippines in the Europa League also means a lot to me, and I hope we can give our best to the city,” said Thirdy Ravena from the Philippines.
Despite arriving just days ago, the 27-year-old is impressed by the club’s ambition. “It’s amazing how they’ve managed to achieve everything in such a short space of time, which shows how determined they are and how much they want to bring the best possible chance for the team to succeed,” he said.
Among his new teammates is Leon Radosevic, a former Bayern Munich player and U19 World Championship bronze medalist. The 34-year-old Croatian has promised to do his best for Dubai Basketball Club, which he said was a no-brainer decision to join.
“It’s amazing to be part of such a big project in a beautiful city like Dubai,” said Radosevic. “As soon as I heard that Dubai was forming a team, I joked to my agent about whether I could play for the team, and then I got a phone call from him asking if I was interested – and here I am.”
“I am very impressed with the club’s ambition and we all want to achieve something that is exciting for everyone in Dubai and the UAE, which is a great place to play basketball,” he added.
The squad also includes Klemen Prepelic, a former Slovenian and Real Madrid player who won the European Championship in 2017. The 31-year-old expressed his excitement about joining the team in the league, saying: “It is an honour for me to be part of this first team and we are all looking forward to achieving something special. I received a call from the head coach and after hearing the club’s ambitions, I agreed to the deal very quickly.”
“We are a group of great players with great talent and it is very important for Dubai to be involved in the Europa League. We have big plans to play in the Europa League one day, so it is exciting for me to be part of this team.”
“It will be fun, but it will be tough at the same time because we are a new team,” said 25-year-old Serbian midfielder Aleksa Oskkovic. “The city is very beautiful, so we have everything we need to train at our best. All the facilities here are top notch, the city is amazing, and hopefully we can get a place in the playoffs for the tournament.”