Oman basketball U-18 team will eye for a strong start at the GCC Basketball Championships which begins in Dubai on Friday. The national team will begin their campaign in the gulf tournament as they will take on Saudi Arabia and the match will kick off at 5:00 pm (Oman time). Oman team, coached by the national head coach Mohammed al Qusaimi, wrapped up their training and the players are in perfect shape to begin their challenge in style.
The team’s preparations included several warm-up matches including some international friendly games. Oman junior stars will aim high in this event. The opening game against the rivals Saudi Arabia is expected to be a strong game as both teams will aim for a good beginning that could encourage the players for better show in the remaining games. Moreover, the coaching staff will focus on this championship as it will act as qualifiers for the final stage of FIBA U18 Men’s Asia Championship in Iran in August. The first and second placed teams will seal the spots for the final stage qualifiers.
The GCC Basketball Championships will run until August 7. The Championships were stopped in the past years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The squad in many teams featured some new faces and this may lead to tough expected games in the tournament. Oman will face Bahrain on Saturday in the second match and Kuwait on Sunday. Later, they will play against the hosts UAE on Tuesday. They will conclude the matches in the group with a match against Qatar on Wednesday.
OMAN SQUAD: Bashar Hisham, Qaiser al Balushi, Sufyan Bait Tawfeeq, Al Waleed al Mawali, Said Ghassan, Al Hawari al Hashli, Ayoob al Jabri, Mohammed al Raisi, Faisal al Abri, Ahmed al Saadi, Abdurahman al Mamari, Mohammed al Wahaibi, Mundher al Mandhari, Turki al Balushi, Faisal al Balushi, Rayan al Balushi, Jaad al Balushi and Abdul Aziz al Balushi.
