DUBAI, 17th May 2017: The semi-final line-up in the 9th Fazza Wheelchair Basketball International Championship – Dubai 2017 held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, was finalized at the end of the group stage of the competition at the Maktoum bin Mohammed Al Maktoum indoor hall at Al Ahli Club, Dubai on Tuesday 16th May.
Thailand defeated Japan 66-28 to remain unbeaten and top group A while Great Britain beat hosts UAE 82-35 to head group B on the third day of competition.
Saudi Arabia won a thrilling regional battle for supremacy against Bahrain 66-52. Bahrain’s Nabeel Hamad Al Doseri dazzled with his individual brilliance top scoring with 30 points, including five three-point shots. Musa Al Zahrani and Abdulrahmah Bin Shaylan scored 14 points apiece for the winners Saudi Arabia.
The seven-team competition is being organized and supervised by the Dubai Club for People of Determination with the support of their strategic partners Dubai Sports Council, IWBF (International Wheelchair Basketball Federation), the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW) and the UAE Paralympic Committee.
The participating countries are South Africa, Japan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Great Britain and hosts UAE.
Hosts UAE will face Thailand in the first semi-final at 11.00 a.m. while Britain will take on Japan in the second semi-final at 2.00 p.m.
Proud
UAE wheelchair basketball head coach Paul Claridge said they were looking forward to the Thailand challenge after giving an improved performance against Team GB despite ending up on the losing side.
“It’s not always about winning or losing. Yes, we won against South Africa but we were disappointed because we didn’t play with discipline. We missed many shots,” said Claridge who has been coaching wheelchair basketball for 25 years.
“Today we took on Team GB. We know they are strong team. All of them can shoot. I’m proud of my guys because it’s hard to play against a world class team. Yesterday (Monday) I feel we didn’t play very well. Today we were much better,” said Claridge who has been associated both the men’s and women’s team of Britain and was their Performance Coach for the past three years.
“We look forward to the Thailand challenge. We are here to learn and develop and it’s a good experience. We have very few players in the UAE. We want to develop new talent to bring into the squad,” said Claridge who took charge of UAE national team just six months ago.
UAE contained Team GB trailing by just 9-16 in the first period with skipper Mohammed Al Zarooni stealing the limelight with a brilliant reverse shot after being cornered under the basket.
Britain enjoyed a 39-16 cushion at half time with Lee Fryer leading the way finding the basket with regular frequence to top score with 22 points.
Skipper Gregg Warbuton (12) and Nat Pattinson (10) were the other main scorers for Team GB who clinically unraveled the tight UAE defence.
Al Zarooni juggled the ball around and launched swift counter attacks in tandem with Ibrahim Al Hammadi. But they were off target with regulation shots under the basket despite breaking through the lines of defence.
UAE star Mohammed Al Zarooni scored 14 points including a superb long-range effort with his final shot while Al Hammadi chipped in with seven points. Abdullah Hashemi, Abdullah Al Suram, Hasim Al Naqbi and Mohammed Al Habsi also found the target to prevent Britain from running away with the game.
Scoring charts
Athin Singdong top scored with 18 points in Thailand’s impressive win over Japan but Aekkasit Jumjarean (16) continued to top the individual scoring chart in the tournament with 59 points in three matches. Kwanchai Pimkorn weighed in with 11 points as Thailand pulled away after a close first period 15-10 to enjoy a 35-18 lead at half time. Koki Maruyama (15) was the main scorer for Japan.