International Teams Will Start Arriving Today to Saudi Arabia
Jeddah’s 3X3 Basketball Team, the representative of Saudi basketball in the tournament, is preparing to compete in FIBA’s 3X3 World Tour Finals , which will be hosted by Saudi Arabia on December 17-18 in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). This tournament taking place in north of Jeddah is organized by the Saudi Ministry of Sports, in coordination with the Saudi Basketball Federation (SBF), under the supervision of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
Jeddah team is currently ranked seventh in world rankings after ranking first place in Prague, Czech Republic, last September, and after achieving advanced positions in the rounds to follow. The team continues its preparations under the supervision of the Slovenian coach, Alesch, and the team players, consisting of Raad Barnawi (Captain), Kevin Corrie, and Ovi Wenmina, are excited about competing in their team’s hometown.
In this regard, Dr. Ibrahim Al Sheikhi, the team’s general supervisor, explained that: “There were great ambitions to move further and farther this year following the good results achieved by the team. We were the first team to ever win a final in this tournament in the history of Saudi Basketball, after winning a tough match against the Serbian Lehman Team. With this prominent achievement of securing the first place in Prague’s round, we look forward to honor Saudi Arabia in our representation at our home, Jeddah.”
Dr. Al-Sheikhi added: “All team members are vigorously working to compete for the title of FIBA’s World Tour Finals, which features the world’s strongest teams in this exciting tournament. As known, the teams that qualified to the finals are the world’s top 12 teams. We were blessed to receive endless encouragement from His Royal Highness the Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, through his constant support and follow-up. We also would like to thank SBF, represented by its president, Dr. Ghassan Tashkandi, for their ongoing support for the team, which have been a key driver to rank seventh in FIBA’s 3X3 world rankings. This support strongly encourages us to look forward eagerly to compete hard and achieve the title of FIBA’s 3X3 World Tour Finals, and to gain higher positions in the world’s ranking.”
On another note, the participating teams will start arriving in Jeddah today Tuesday December 14th, in preparation for FIBA’s 3X3 World Tour Finals. The organizing committee have finalized all preparations to host the tournament and all the teams in KAEK. The participating teams, in addition to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah team, are: Latvia’s Riga team (defending champions), Serbia’s Ob Lehman team, Belgium’s Antop team, Netherland’s Amsterdam team, Lithuania’s Shakai and Karaz team, Switzerland’s Lausanne team, Russia’s Qakarin team, and Princeton team who will be representing USA, San Juan, and Puerto Rico.