Dubai: Six of the eight places in the futsal quarter-finals were confirmed with one round of matches still remaining at the third Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament.
At the end of the second round on Tuesday night, Al Zeer, Fohood Zabeel, XCAT, Tornado, Surprise and last year’s runners-up Al Jokar had all secured their respective places for the quarter-finals with one match each still in hand.
The two spots on offer will be decided within the next two days with Al Bahri and Fohood Jumeirah scheduled to play on Wednesday to decide the second team from Group B, while in Group C the battle will be between the Hamdan Heritage Centre and the Zabeel Office team on Thursday.
Al Zeer and two-time defending champions Fohood Zabeel were the first to have booked their spots from Group A with two wins each. Their clash against each other that was scheduled for Wednesday, will only give the winner a psychological advantage and along with it the group leadership.
XCAT has been another team that has impressed with two wins to emerge at the top of Group B, while Wednesday’s final group encounter between Al Bahri and Fohood Jumeirah will decide the second team to advance along with the boatmen.
In Group C, Tornado have already qualified after two wins leaving Hamdan Heritage Centre (HHC) and Zabeel Office team to fight out for the eighth and final spot in the quarters. Surprise and Al Jokar have both won two matches so far and their clash with each other on Thursday will only decide which team ends as Group D leader.
Wheelchair Basketball
Group leaders Dubai Municipality will take on Public Prosecution, while the Hamdan Heritage Centre (HHC) will face the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) in the semi-finals of the wheelchair basketball.
As per competition rules, the four semi-finalists are allowed to consolidate their squads by signing new players to make the semi-finals more competitive.
In the last round of preliminary matches played at the Dubai Club for Special Needs in Al Ghusais, Dubai Municipality became the only team to emerge with an all-win record after four matches. In their fourth match, Dubai Municipality defeated Dubai Club for Special Needs 34-14 to deny the hosts a spot in the last four stages.
Hamdan Heritage Centre secured a 37-10 win against Dubai Sports Channel to also advance, while DEWA handed Dubai Duty Free their fourth successive loss with a 48-10 result. The fourth and final slot went to Public Prosecution with a 44-21 win over Union Co-Operative. The third place and final will be played at the NAS Sports Complex on July 5.
