Sport | Basketball
Basketballers ill-prepared for Doha
The UAE national basketball team start final preparations for the Asian Games on November 13, a day after the league matches finish.
- By Sayed Ali, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:35 May 3, 2009
Dubai: The UAE national basketball team start final preparations for the Asian Games on November 13, a day after the league matches finish.
Skipper Khalifa Al Shaiba, who had earlier announced his retirement, will still be accompanying the national team in Doha.
"I retired after the GCC tournament last September in Qatar, where we won the bronze medal. However, the officials asked me to stay on and I have agreed to play only in the first round against Kuwait and Kazakhstan," Al Shaiba told Gulf News yesterday.
The UAE skipper, an employee of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said that he would have to report to work to Dubai immediately after the first round. " I cannot play in the second round even if the UAE qualifies due to my duties in the RTA. But I can still play in the Gulf Cup next January, because it will be in Dubai," said Al Shaiba.
Mounir Ben Habib, the technical director and national team manager, said the national team preparations was irregular due to several circumstances. "The preparations began in the summer. We held training camps in Dubai and Turkey before we took part in the GCC tournament in Doha last September. After that, the players returned to their clubs to play in the league,"said Ben Habib.
He felt that such a preparation was not enough for participating in such a strong tournament like the Asian Games.
"The main problem which we faced were securing the release of the players from their workplace. They are working in the government and private sector establishments and it was very difficult to free them to join the training camps," said Ben Habib. He said that the failure to release the players prevented them from taking the team to an external training camp before the Asian Games.
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