Dzanan Musa: “We have missed the people of Dubai”

Dubai: After months away from their home court due to regional geopolitical tensions, Dubai Basketball's long-awaited return to the city could hardly come at a bigger moment, with the ABA League Finals arriving on Thursday night as the team host Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade in Game 1.

A sell-out crowd is expected at the Coca-Cola Arena as Dubai Basketball return home aiming to take a step towards history with the ABA League championships in sight.

The team took to the court on Wednesday for an open training session, with in-form forward Dzanan Musa speaking to media ahead of the biggest game in the club's history.

“It’s going to be amazing, we missed the people of Dubai a lot,” explained Musa.

“We feel most at home here, we appreciate Bosnia for looking after us, but Dubai Basketball belongs to this city, and I know the fans will show us love in our first match back.”

Forced to relocate their home fixtures to Bosnia, Dubai Basketball have had to rely heavily on resilience, adaptability and a strong sense of togetherness throughout the latter stages of the season.

Despite the disruption, the team impressively continued to deliver on the court, winning nine of their 11 games in Bosnia and securing a place in the ABA League Finals.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's opener, Musa highlighted the unity within the squad as a key factor behind their success, with players and staff rallying together through a challenging period to keep the club's historic debut season firmly on track.

“We have spent a lot more time together as a team due to the circumstances and it definitely gave us a boost on the court,” said the 27-year-old.

“Now we are back in Dubai we want to reconnect with our people again and we want to see Coca-Cola Arena full in Game 1 so they can help us bring a title to the city.”

Musa’s experience of playing away from Dubai has been notably different from the rest of the squad, with the 6-foot-9 forward already a major star in Bosnia and the captain of the national team.

While his teammates adapted to unfamiliar surroundings, Musa returned to a more familiar stage in front of his home country supporters, where he thrived in remarkable form, scoring 128 points across six ABA League games.

Musa said: “Playing back in Bosnia was obviously a nice feeling for me and I felt good in my game for sure.

“As I said we’re really appreciative towards Bosnia, it was a nice temporary home but at the end of the day Dubai is our real home and we are excited to see everyone again.”

There is no doubt emotions will be running high when Dubai Basketball finally step back onto the Coca-Cola Arena court on Thursday night, but Musa believes the team must strike the right balance between embracing the occasion and staying focused on the task at hand.

After months away from their home fans, the Bosnian forward acknowledged the significance of the moment but stressed that the players cannot allow the atmosphere to distract them from their ultimate objective.

“We need to look at it like it’s any other game,” explained Musa.

“Me and my teammates have a lot of experience so we will try to use the emotion to our advantage and have fun like we always do.”

Fans can register to be a part of the finals action in Dubai at: https://dubaibasketball.com/homecoming/