Nizwa face off with Al Manama at GCC Basketball meet

MUSCAT, May 8 - The host, Nizwa Club will take on Al Manama Club from Bahrain while Al Rayyan from Qatar will face UAE’s Al Sharjah Club at the GCC Club Basketball Championship. Both matches will take place in the indoor hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Nizwa, who are Oman’s representative, are keen to grab their first victory in the championship. Nizwa had begun the competition on a losing note against Qatar’s Al Rayyan Club in the first round on Sunday. Despite the tough game that is expected, Nizwa players will look to rectify their earlier mistakes and aim for a fine performance. National coach Mohammed al Qassim will look to iron out the chinks in Nizwa’s armour. The Sultanate’s team have a good bunch of players in the team namely Sulaiman al Hinai, Ashraf al Yaraibi and some professional players like Arun Mitchiel and Weli Kuassi. Mohammed al Qusaimi, the national coach of Nizwa Club, confirmed his team’s readiness to face Manama. “The team is ready and trained well for today’s match. I believe the team who will have the best concentration will end up as the winner,” Mohammed al Qusaimi, head of Nizwa Club said. “I watched the last match of Al Manama team. I recorded some observations like strengths and weaknesses points,” Al Qusaimi added. Eight clubs will be divided into two groups. The first group comprises Ahli Dubai from the UAE, Al Muharraq from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia’s Al Etihad and Al Arabi from Qatar. The host Nizwa Club is part of the second group along with Al Sharjah from the UAE, Al Manama from Bahrain and Al Rayyan from Qatar. The GCC Club Basketball Championship is an opportunity for all the participated clubs to gain entry to Asian GCC Championship and then to World Clubs Championship.