The head coach of the national basketball teams, Dr. Mounir Ben Habib, revealed three technical benefits behind supporting the 'White' national team with professional foreign players from state clubs during his current participation in the 'Dubai International' tournament, which runs until February 1st in its 35th edition at the Al Nasr Club court in Dubai.
Ben Habib told 'Al Ittihad' that 'reinforcing the national team with professional foreign players from local clubs aims primarily to distribute the physical effort among the players of the 'White', especially those returning from injuries, such as DeMarco Dickerson, Jassim Mohamed, Rashed Naser, and Mamadou Ndai. This is particularly important as our current participation in the 'Dubai Basketball' tournament is the most crucial stop in preparing the team for the task of defending the gold medal at the Gulf Games, which Qatar will host next May'.
He explained: 'We reinforced the team with three professionals from Al Ahli, Al Batayaa, and Al Wasl clubs: DeShondre Washington, Anthony Criswell, and Stooly Chafie. They played a significant role, especially in our match against Al Nasr (the day before yesterday), by allowing DeMarco, Jassim Mohamed, and Rashed Al Zaabi to rest, along with the pivot player Mamadou Ndai'.
He added: 'The benefit from the tournament system, which allows participating teams to reinforce their rosters with three foreign professionals, has yielded technical results. It has given our national players greater benefit from the professional mindset in training and the ability to execute technical plans on the court, against teams that are the elite in the region. Consequently, this has prepared the 'White' team physically and mentally for the upcoming Gulf event'.
Ben Habib pointed out that the third technical benefit extends to the foreign professionals themselves and the clubs they represent, as they have gained the opportunity to interact with peers from different schools: the African school, which relies more on physical contact, and the Asian school, which focuses on ball transition speed and three-point shooting.
Regarding today's match against Syrian Al Wahda in the final of Group A, Ben Habib said: 'We enter the match with the slogan of finishing the group stage in first place. However, the chances are equal against Al Wahda, the runner-up of the group with five points, which showed in its last match and its victory over Al Ittihad of Libya (96-91) a state of development in its performance from match to match. They have the motivation to deliver a high-level performance, as the winner will seize the top spot in the group, which guarantees them a relatively easy match against the fourth-placed team in Group B in the quarter-finals'.
Today's matches: 15:00 Al Nasr (UAE) vs. Homs (Syria) 17:00 National Team (UAE) vs. Al Wahda (Syria) 19:00 African (Tunisia) vs. Ahli Tripoli (Libya) 21:00 Beirut (Lebanon) vs. Zamboanga (Philippines)
