The manager of the basketball team, Rashid Al Nakbi, spoke about the readiness of the "Whites" for the match against the Syrian national team in the opening of the third and final window of the selection tournament for the Asian Cup 2025. In an interview for the newspaper "Emirates Today", Al Nakbi said: "This is the first time that our national team enters a match with a full roster, without absences or injuries, and this has a significant impact on its results in the previous two windows."
"The game against the Syrian team is an opportunity to bounce back after our defeat of 67-70 in February last year, following which we suffered another loss to Bahrain 63-78, when we were missing five key players," he noted.
"We are heading to Doha, the venue for the matches of the Syrian national team, with a lineup of 14 players, including experienced players such as Kais Omar, Mamadou Ndaiye, and Omar Al Amri. The first two missed the first window, while Al Amri was absent in the match against Lebanon during the opening of the second window last November, which we lost 77-99. After that, we secured an important victory over Bahrain 90-77 in the same month, which revived our chances for direct qualification for the Asian Cup," he added.
"We can only hope to overcome the Syrian challenge not only thanks to a full roster but also due to the readiness of the "Whites" for this match, demonstrating their strong game and bronze medal at the international tournament in Dubai, as well as the training camp in Serbia that concluded yesterday."
"The victory over Syria gives us more confidence before the next qualifier match against Lebanon on February 25," concluded Al Nakbi.
