Basketball: Al Shabab face Hoops Lebanon in opener

Dubai: Hoops Lebanon will take on the Sadaf Group-sponsored host side in the opening match of the second Al Shabab Basketball Championship at 7pm here on Friday.

All seven teams participating in the week-long competition have already arrived and have been holding training sessions at the Al Shabab indoor hall.

The much-fancied Barako Bull, a regular in the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) League, will face Al Ahli from Libya at 9pm in the day’s second match.

The eight teams have been put in two groups, with hosts Al Shabab heading Group A along with Hoops from Lebanon, Al Sahel from Kuwait and University of Sharjah (UOS), while Group B consists of US-based Team Unity, Al Ahli from Libya, Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) side Barako Bull and Zamalek from Egypt. The final will take place at 8pm on May 25.

Tournament director Awad Sami told Gulf News on Wednesday: “Al Sahel from Kuwait arrived at 1pm yesterday, while Egypt Air-sponsored Zamalek was scheduled to land later in the night. Barako Bull from the Philippines practised at the Al Shabab Club indoor hall yesterday evening.

“We are all set to go for this tournament. The teams are happy with the arrangements that have been made and we are now waiting for the matches to commence.”

The preliminary round matches will go on daily until May 21, after which the four quarter-finals will be played on May 22 and 23 and the final on May 25.

The competition is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the auspices of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC). The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Cars Vehicle Testing Centre and American University in the Emirates are the main sponsors.