The national team of the basketball club Ali Al-Khatai, which currently serves as the coordinator of youth categories in the Shabab Al-Ahli club, stated that the national team OAE has paid the tax for poor game management and withdrew from the qualifying tournaments for the 2025 Asian Championship. The team suffered a defeat from the national team of Lebanon with a score of 88-91 in the concluding match of the third and final stage of the qualifying round, finishing the tournament in fourth and last place in the group of six.
Ali Al-Khatai noted that the players of the national team showed a good game during the selection matches, but the team's management did not cope with the required tasks. He also praised the efforts of the basketball federation, noting that the team was ready for the matches, the longest training courses compared to other teams in the group, but difficulties arose due to poor game management.
It should be noted that the national team achieved only one victory out of six matches - over the national team of Bahrain with a score of 90-77, and suffered defeats from Syria (67-70), Bahrain (63-78), Lebanon (77-99), Syria (61-86), and Lebanon (88-91), which led to a difficult situation before the decisive matches.
