Coca-Cola, Air21 see action in Dubai tourney

Source: GMANEWS
The Coca Cola Tigers and the Air21 Express will battle it out with two of the top basketball teams in the UAE at the 2nd Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Basketball Tournament from March 4-6 at the Al Nasr Sports Club in Oud Metha, Dubai.

The tournament is an offshoot of the impressive performance of Smart Gilas Pilipinas team in the recent 21st Dubai International Basketball Championship, where the Philippine developmental team placed third against the behemoths of pan-Arabic basketball.

Speaking highly of Philippine basketball, Naji Aljabri, CEO of New Generation Sport Marketing Event and organizer of the tournament, said he wants to test the mettle of the UAE National Team and Al Nasr Club against the PBA teams.

Aljabri considers the PBA as one of the most organized and prestigious basketball leagues in the world next to the National Basketball Association and the Euro League.

“I want to bring the same professional experience and game intensity of the PBA to the UAE and also to provide entertainment to the Filipino expats who are known basketball fanatics," Aljabri said.

He said the two UAE teams are young but with huge potentials, strong and determined to become among the best teams in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa ) region and even worldwide.

The UAE National team is composed of all local players while Al Nasr Club is led by American import Vincent Jones, who at 6’11" is a dominant inside player, supported by Talal Salem, Talal, Musabah, Khalid Obaid, Ibrahim Obaid, Saleh Sultan and Salem Obaid.

Scheduled games are UAE National Team vs. Air21 (7 pm Dubai time; 11pm Manila time) followed by Al Nasr vs. Coca-Cola (9 pm Dubai time) on March 4 (Thursday); Al Nasr vs. UAE National Team (7 pm) and Air21 vs. Coca-Cola on March 5 (Friday); and UAE National Team vs. Coca Cola (7pm) and Al Nasr vs. Air21 (9 pm) on March 6 (Saturday).

The three-day tournament named after the deputy ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance of the UAE, will follow FIBA rules and a one-round elimination series format. Three foreign players can be included in the line-up but only two will be allowed to play at the same time. - GMANews.TV