Muscat: The Arab U-18 3x3 Basketball Championship kicked off on Sunday in Muscat. The event is being hosted by the Oman Basketball Association in collaboration with the GCC Basketball Coordination Committee, and the Arab Basketball Federation, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, The Al Mouj Muscat, and Oman Sail.
The winning teams will be crowned on Monday under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Mohammed bin Salim al Said, at The Al Mouj Muscat. The first day of the competition saw exciting matches between the participating teams.
In the opening match for the girls' category between Oman (B) and Algeria, Algeria started quickly by scoring three points. The Algerian team then added another three points to make the score 6-0.
The Omani team tried to score, but the Algerian defence kept all the balls out, and the Algerian team added 7 more points to make the score 13-0. The Algerian team continued to double the score taking a win that resulted in a 19-0 loss for the Omani team.
In the second match of the girls' category between the UAE and Kuwait, the Gulf champions, Kuwait, started quickly and opened the scoring with two points. Kuwait then doubled the score and scored 3 points. The UAE team responded by scoring one point to make the score 6-1. teams continued to exchange attacks and each team added several points, with the match ending in a 13-5 victory for Kuwait.
In the match between Oman (A) and Iraq, the Iraqi players started quickly by scoring three points. The Iraqi team continued to be active and added four points to make the score 7-0. The Omani team responded by scoring one point. The teams continued to exchange attacks, with the match ending in a 14-3 victory for the Iraqi team.
There was an exciting match between the UAE and Oman (A). The UAE opened the scoring with five points, but Oman responded with two points to make the score 5-2. The UAE then scored two more points to take a 7-2 lead, but Oman did not give up and scored 5 points to make the score 7-7. At the end of the match, Oman managed to double the score by scoring 3 points to win 10-9.
In the opening match of the boys' competition between Oman (B) and Algeria, Algeria started quickly and opened the scoring with one point. The Omani team responded and equalised the score. Algeria then added two points to make the score 3-1. The Omani players then scored two points to make the score 3-3. The Algerian players then doubled the score by scoring 3 points. The Omani players responded by scoring two points to make the score 6-5.
The excitement continued and the teams exchanged attacks, with each team adding several points. The match ended in a 16-8 victory for Algeria.
In the second match of the boys' category between Kuwait and the UAE, Kuwait opened the scoring and took a 2-point lead. The UAE team responded by scoring one point to reduce the deficit to 2-1. The excitement continued as Kuwait managed to double the score by scoring three points. The UAE team responded by scoring two points to make the score 5-3. The teams continued to exchange attacks, with the UAE team adding 5 points and Kuwait adding 9 points. The match ended in a 14-9 victory for Kuwait.
In the match between Oman (A) and Saudi Arabia, the defending Gulf champions, Saudi Arabia opened the scoring with one point. Oman responded quickly and equalised the score. Saudi Arabia then added two points to make the score 3-1. Oman continued to try to equalise the score, but the Saudi defence held out. Saudi Arabia then added four points, and Oman responded with two points to make the score 7-3. Despite the efforts of the Omani players to equalise the score, Saudi Arabia managed to double the score and win 21-11.
Hamoud al Malki, a member of the GCC Coordination Committee, praised the organisational and technical level of the tournament. "The tournament is a success from all technical and organisational aspects. The Oman Basketball Association succeeded in organising the tournament and choosing the appropriate venue, which was an important point in promoting the game of 3x3 basketball. The tournament also recorded a rise in the technical level of the participating Gulf teams and allowed the teams to participate with more than one team," he said.
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