UAE cagers set for Asia under-18 championship

[shahul]

DUBAI - UAE will pit their strength against some of the best young talents in the continent when Asia junior under-18 basketball championship opens in Teheran on Thursday.

The nine-day event has attracted 16 top teams divided into four groups. UAE are clubbed in Group C along with Chinese Taipei, Lebanon and Philippines.

Group A comprises China, Japan, Hong Kong, India. South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Kazkhstan and Jordan are in Group B while Group D consists of Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Malaysia and hosts Iran.

UAE face a tricky opening match when they take on Lebanon on court 1 at the Azadi stadium on Thursday. India face Japan in their opening Group A encounter while Philippines meet Chinese Taipei on the same day on Thursday.

A 20-member delegation of the UAE Basketball Association, meanwhile, left for Teheran on Tuesday to participate in the championship. The contingent, comprising 12 players, was headed by Salim Al Mutawa, a board member of the association.

The other officials included coach Ostojic Mladen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Salim Atiq, assistant coach, Dr. Munir Ben Habib, technical director of the association, Rashid Abdullah, manager of the team, Hussain Al Boloushi and Salim Al Zaabi, both referees. The team were on a two-week training camp in Instanbul where they played six matches against junior teams and third division clubs. Mladen, coach of the team, speaking to Khaleej Times before the team left for Teheran described the training stint in Turkey as 'ok'. 'The training camp in Turkey was perfect as it gave the players the opportunity to stay together.'

Mladen, who is also the senior national team coach, is confident the team could do something. But he admitted it would not be all that easy as the best teams in Asia are participating. On the first match against Lebanon, Mladen said: 'We are not taking them lightly. Lebanon always have strong teams and basketball is a popular sport in that country.'

On the Chinese Taipei, who are in the same group with UAE, Mladen said they had tall players like mainland China and should not be taken as an easy side. 'But we will have time to watch them and our other opponents in the group, Philippines, when they clash in their opening match,' the Bosnian said.

Mladen explained that the players were young and the first time they were coming together. 'Participating in such a major event will be a good experience for them. They are the future of the senior national team. I hope they will put up a good fight. But the most important thing is to produce a good show in Iran,' he added.

The technical director, Dr. Munir, said the team had a good preparation in Turkey. But he said the Asian championship in Teheran would be tough for the young lads. 'But it will equip them with good experience which will help them in the AGCC Junior Basketball Championship scheduled for Bahrain next year.'

On the chances of the team in Iran, he replied: 'Our objective is participation and getting experience.

'But it will be a big achievement if they make it to the next round,' he added.

The players, who made the trip on Tuesday, were: Mohammed Abdullah Saeed, Omar Othman Bilal, Rashid Salim Issa, Khalifa Khalil Ibrahim, Qais Omar Ahmed, Manea Saeed Ismail Jassim Khamis Abdullah, Abdullah Tawfiq Mohammed, Omar Khalid Faqqas, Rashid Mohammed Salah, Mohammed Hashil Obaid.



edwin@khaleejtimes.com