Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar National Basketball Team B clinched the GCC 3×3 Basketball Championship title defeating Kuwait’s Team A 18-16 in the final at the Al Gharafa Sports Hall on Saturday.
The tournament, held over two days, witnessed the participation of six teams, two each from Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar, the host country.
Qatar’s Team B were deservedly crowned with the championship title after they presented an outstanding performance throughout the two days of the Gulf Championship, where they won all four matches played, starting with the group stage, in which they defeated both the Oman Team B 21-19 and the Kuwait Team A 21-12, before knocking the Kuwait Team B out of the way in the semi-final with a score of 21-20.
Kuwait Team A won second place and the silver medals, while Kuwait Team B won the bronze medals beating Qatar’s Team A in the ranking match with a score of 21-17.
After the end of the competitions, QBF Secretary-General Saadoun Sabah Al Kuwari, Abdul Rahman Al Hitmi, a member of the Board of Directors of QBF, and Meshal Mohammed, Assistant Treasurer of the Kuwait Basketball Association and head of the Kuwaiti delegation, crowned the first-place winners amid overwhelming joy from the Al Annabi basketball players who were crowned with gold.
“We thank all the players for the great effort they made during the course of the tournament and for their success in reaching the final match and obtaining the title. The tournament has been revived again, and God willing, it will continue during the coming period, with the next edition being held in Amman next February and Kuwait hosting the next edition,” said Al Kuwari.
QBF Deputy Director of National Teams Yassin Ismail said that the tournament had been very impressive, with the quality of play of very high standards.
“The tournament witnessed very strong competition, as all the matches ended in the last seconds, which confirms the closeness of the levels. I am happy for the new generation, as Team B won the title, even though we were counting on Team A, who won the silver medal recently at the Asian Games in China. But unfortunately, they were not so lucky, while the second team, which had two young players, Abdullah Yassin and Hamad Nadawi, achieved a very pleasant surprise with their victory. Winning the title is a good indicator for the future of the game in Qatar,” he said.
The GCC Championship was held for the first time after an eight-year hiatus.
