October 28, 1997: Qatar wins GCC basketball championship
UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait all finished with two wins each, but a better set ratio decided their placings
1997 - Hot favourites Qatar crowned themselves GCC champions after a thrilling five-set win over hosts UAE at the Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Saeed indoor courts in Abu Dhabi. Unbeaten Qatar, runners-up in the inaugural edition two years ago in Doha, thus went one better and fully deserved their 17-15, 6-15,15-13,10-15,15-13 triumph though the hosts were rather unlucky to finish second best. Sultan Saqr Al Suweidi (above left), under-secretary for sports in the Ministry of Education and Youth, presented the trophy to Qatari skipper Jamal Hamad. Earlier in the evening, holders Bahrain salvaged some prestige to finish third ahead of Kuwait. UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait all finished with two wins each, but a better set ratio decided their placings.
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