Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
The NextGen Finals for Under-18 basketball players on the sidelines of the EuroLeague’s Final Four in Abu Dhabi proved to be a vital stepping stone for some of the sport’s future superstars in the week gone by. And the host country’s representatives Dubai Basketball Falcons impressed despite many challenges.
“We got only 10 days to come together to prepare, so considering the challenges, I am proud of the team,” coach Slaven Rimac tells Aletihad after the side finished their third and final Group A engagement at the Mubadala Arena. The world’s top eight clubs were pitted in two groups and only the group toppers made it to the final.
The hastily arranged team of Dubai Basketball had a tough pairing with one of the oldest clubs, Barcelona, to open the tournament on a losing note. But they acquitted themselves with a comeback win against Mega Super Belgrade and even rallied in the third quarter and led against eventual finalist Emporio Armani Milan in the final game. But the Italian club’s more experienced players dug deep and managed to find the win 86-84, such was the fine margin.
There is a saying that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. But in order for that to happen, you first have to see and face the best. Judging by the display of the younger Falcons and the fact that Milan lost to eventual winner Zalgiris Kaunas 89-81, the future seems only bright from here.
“We have young players like Gustavs [Vilcans] or [Diop] Amath, who are born in 2010, then Bacary [Doucoure] is also 2010, and meanwhile all of the squad of EA Milan is like 2007 and they have been playing together for about two years now,” Rimac pointed out.
The team finished strongly especially considering a 46-point margin loss to Barcelona. “Unfortunately, we played against a very good team of Barcelona. They punished us and we were not under any illusions. But yes, it was important how we react to that and the boys concentrated on the second and third games.
“We showed that we have quality, that the kids know how to play right... I guess the kids were not used to that stage, especially in offence where they couldn’t react as well as after. But we showed we had a united team; everybody respects each other and I think we showed a really good face of Dubai basketball team.
“I was indeed worried about the players’ mental and psychological side after that Barcelona loss because we knew we had a certain quality but as you know, we didn’t have time to practice as much. Yet, the team reacted very well with that response against Mega. And remember, it is the first time we are playing in Abu Dhabi, too,” Rimac said.
The other group also was strongly contested with the Lithuanian side of Kaunas prevailing over teams from Real Madrid, Paris and United States. Dubai Basketball competed as wild card entrants and managed to carve their own impressions, as hoped by Rimac colleague and the general manager of the club’s youth programme, Petros Krasopoulos.
“For the kids coming through our academy and other young players across the UAE, seeing a team from Dubai competing in the NextGen EuroLeague has been a massive source of inspiration,” said Krasopoulos, the Greek native who has been with the club since 2015. “It makes professional basketball an achievable feat – highlighting that there’s a clear pathway from playing the game here locally to stepping onto the court against some of the biggest youth teams in Europe.”
