DOHA: Qatar’s national team will be targeting glory in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship to be held in August this year, the president of Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) has said.
Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the QBF president, said Qatar had earned the reputation of ‘fighters’ having won a number of key events at regional and international level.
The 2013 FIBA Asia Championship for Men is the intercontinental championship organized by FIBA Asia and the winner in Manila, the Philippnes, will qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.
The tournament will be held from August 1–11 and Qatar is one of the participating sides.
Speaking at the season-ending gathering, Sheikh Saoud said: “This has been a satisfying season for our teams. We won the GCC Club Basketball Championship recently. One of our teams also won the FIBA 3x3 championship just last week. Sometime back we won the gold at the Arab Games.”
He added: “We have a strong base for the national team. Our next target will be the FIBA Asia Championship. That will be our next main event. In the coming years, we will be focusing on taking part in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.”
Sheikh Saoud said a highly competitive national league structure was proving to be a major help in building a strong Qatar squad.
“The support we need comes from our clubs,” Sheikh Saoud said.
“The backroom staff, the coaches and team behind the scenes deserves credit for raising the profile of the sport in the country,” Sheikh Saoud said.
Earlier this year, Sheikh Saoud heralded a new concept - promising a free basketball for every child in the country.
In February, QBF announced that it was to ensure all children living in the nation will benefit from being handed a free basketball.
In line with the wider vision and strategy to further develop and ignite passion for basketball in Qatar, Sheikh Saoud, who is also the Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), initiated the new project.
Working with a local sponsor, QBF was able to ensure the allocation of 50,000 basketballs for the project, an initiative which seeks to get more kids playing basketball on the streets and in every playground in Qatar.
Basketball festivals are also held from time to time, allowing QBF to get young kids involved in one of the most popular disciplines at the Olympics.
Sheikh Saoud later handed over mementos to playing members and officials of Al Rayyan (Emir Cup winners), Al Sadd (national league title champions) and Al Gharafa, the three champion sides this year.
Yasin Ismail, the Al Rayyan skipper and key Qatar national team player, said: “I believe we are moving in the right direction. Achieving good results is tough but we can do it. I believe we are building a strong base for a good national side for years to come.”
THE PENINSULA
