Dubai: Germany’s Bayern Munich will be one of the four outstation teams in action as the Second Dubai International Junior Basketball Championships kicks off on August 27.
To be played at the American University Dubai (AUD) indoor court, the tournament’s opening day will see Bayern Munich taking on Al Ahli, Dubai in the first match at 4 pm on Saturday.
The other three outstation teams are last year’s semi-finalists Partizan Belgrade of Serbia, Al Riyadhi of Jordan and Al Ahli of Egypt. These clubs will join the four basketball teams from Dubai, namely Al Ahli, Al Nasr, Al Shabab and Al Wasl in a round-robin format on the first three days to determine group placings.
Bayern Munich Basketball is part of the FC Bayern Munich sports club, and they are involved in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and in the Eurocup. The senior basketball team of Bayern Munich have been German champions on three occasions starting with the inaugural title in 1953-’54 and the last one in 2013-’14.
The knock-out quarter-finals will be played on August 31 with the group winners playing the fourth best teams from the other group, while the second and third will clash to determine the other semi-finalist. The third place and final will be played on September 2.
“After last year’s success we decided to invite a strong team like Bayern Munich and take this competition to a higher level. The team from Partizan will be there again, and hopefully this time they will make it to the final and we can hope for yet another exciting tournament,” Ahmad Salim Al Muhairi, Chairman, Organising Committee, told Gulf News.
Organised by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the annual competition is part of the council’s strategy in raising the standard and talent among young players representing the clubs in Dubai.
The inaugural edition of the tournament was clinched by a young FC Barcelona team following a 72-70 win over Sharjah Club last year. The Catalans had earlier defeated pre-tournament favourites Partizan Belgrade 85-82 in the semi-final.
Schedule
August 27: Bayern Munich x Al Ahli, Dubai; Partizan, Serbia x Al Shabab, Dubai; Al Ahli, Egypt x Al Nasr, Dubai; Al Riyadhi, Jordan x Al Wasl, Dubai.
August 28: Al Shabab, Dubai x Al Riyadhi, Jordan; Al Ahli, Dubai x Al Ahli, Egypt; Al Wasl, Dubai x Partizan, Serbia; Al Nasr, Dubai x Bayern Munich.
August 29: Al Wasl, Dubai x Al Shabab, Dubai; Al Nasr, Dubai x Al Ahli, Dubai; Partizan, Serbia x Al Riyadhi, Jordan; Bayern Munich x Al Ahli, Egypt.
August 30: Rest Day
August 31: Quarter-finals
September 1: Semi-finals
September 2: Final
(*Matches at 4 pm, 5.30 pm, 7 pm and 8.30 pm.)
