Muscat: The competition of the Gulf Cooperation Council Under-18 3x3 Basketball Championship for Girls and Boys kicked off on Friday, with attendance of HH Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad Al Said in present of Khalfan al Naabi, Chairman of the Oman Basketball Association.
The championship is hosted by Oman Basketball Association from 1 to 2 March in cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council Basketball Committee and the Arab Basketball Federation in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, The Al Mouj Muscat, and Oman Sail.
With participants of 8 Gulf teams for boys namely: Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia A and B, UAE, and Kuwait. While 5 teams participate in girls' championship, represented Oman A and B, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait).
In the opening match, Saudi Arabia A defeated the UAE 18-13. Saudi Arabia started the match well and took a 2-1 lead, but the UAE managed to equalize and take a 4-2 lead. Saudi Arabia returned to close the gap to 3-4, and the excitement continued with more attacks and the UAE maintained their lead 6-5. The excitement and the exchanged attacks continued until the end of the match with a victory for Saudi Arabia A over the UAE 18-13.
In the second match, Kuwait A achieved an important victory over Saudi Arabia B with a score of 14-6. Kuwaiti started with a distinguished performance, as they advanced with a score of 3-0, but Saudi team managed to reduce the difference. The exchange of attacks continued until the end of the match with a victory for Kuwait with a score of 14-6.
In girls' competition, Kuwait B achieved an important victory over UAE A team with a score of 16-6. Kuwaiti started by advancing over UAE by one point, then managed to increase the difference to 3-0 after scoring two additional points. Despite the Emirates' attempts to advance, the Kuwaiti team continued to dominate the match and increase the difference until the end of the match with a victory for Kuwait with a score of 16-6.
In the girls' match, Oman B lost to Saudi Arabia A with a score of 3-15. Saudi team started to advance despite the attempts of Oman team to score, Saudi Arabia end the match with a victory of 15-3.
Oman national team A suffered a loss against the Qatari team B with a score of 5-12, in a match that witnessed a good performance from the Qatari team. The Qataris excelled in taking advantage of the opportunities, while the Oman national team players stumbled, which led to the Qataris advancing by two points. National team player Abdulrahman al Maamari returned and scored a point to reduce the difference, but the Qataris managed to widen it aga
in with a new point. Later, our player Azad al Balushi managed to reduce the difference to 2-3. The exchange of opportunities continued until the end of the match with a victory for the Qatari team (B) with a score of 5-12.
Khalfan al Naabi, spoke about the end of the first day, he praised the performance of all GCC teams, noting that "The decision to host the championship in the Al Mouj area was a wise decision by the organizing committee, as it considered one of the best recreational locations in Muscat and attracts a large number of visitors".
Al Naabi added that, "hosting such Arab and Gulf championships reflects the great sporting capabilities of the Sultanate of Oman. Despite expectations of rain, the organizing committee has put in place a contingency plan to ensure the smooth running of the championship without any direct impact"
Regarding the prospects of the national teams in the championship, Al Naabi confirmed that, "The competition is strong and the performance and decisive results will determine the winners".
Aisha al Yafeia, Omani player said, "The team faced Saudi team in their first match, despite the players performing well, some sudden mistakes led to their loss. We will benefit from this experience to improve their performance in the upcoming matches, emphasizing their readiness to make up for the negative results".
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