Omani Coaches attend International basketball course
MUSCAT, MAY 24
Two Omani coaches, Mohammed bin Mubarak al Awaisi from Al Amerat Club and Majid bin Omar al Balushi from Salalah Club, participated in the International Coaches Course held over two days at the Umm Al Hassam Basketball Hall in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The course was led by veteran Serbian coach Saša Obradović and coach Jelena, and featured a distinguished group of coaches from across the Gulf and Arab countries.
The participation of the Omani coaches was supported by the Oman Basketball Association (OBA) through a training grant provided by the Technical Development Committee. This initiative comes as part of the association's ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of national coaching talent and to provide them with opportunities to explore the latest coaching concepts and methods at regional and international levels. The Technical Development Committee emphasised that this participation falls under its strategic plan to support and qualify Omani coaches through specialised programmes that strengthen their presence in the sports field. In a statement, coach Mohammed al Awaisi expressed his gratitude for this exceptional training opportunity, saying: 'The course was an enriching experience in every sense. We had the rare chance to engage with highly experienced coaches and explore advanced concepts in both offensive and defensive strategies. What stood out to me the most was the strong focus on the details of decision-making during the game and how to manage pressure in critical moments.'
He added Such participation boosts the confidence of Omani coaches and provides them with modern tools that can be applied in developing our local teams. I thank the Oman Basketball Association for this initiative and hope this type of course continues, as it truly makes a difference in developing national competencies.
The course included a number of theoretical and practical sessions. The first day focused on building a defensive system, the coach's role in leadership and decision-making from the bench, and concluded with an interactive discussion session on defensive philosophy and its real-life applications. The second day was dedicated to offensive aspects, covering how to deal with defensive switches and how to build both team and individual offense, followed by an open discussion on offensive schemes and tactical adjustments.
The course provided participants, including the Omani coaches, with direct access to the expertise of Obradović, who has been named EuroCup Coach of the Year. They benefited from rich discussions and hands-on applications that deepened their technical and tactical understanding and enhanced their leadership abilities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
2 hours ago
- Observer
Al Zubair takes Al Manar to Gold Cup victory
MONZA, Italy: Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair, Jens Klingmann and Ben Tuck delivered another driving and strategic masterclass to finish fourth overall and first in the Gold Cup class at the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS at Monza late on Sunday afternoon. Despite qualifying in seventh, the trio carried out their pit stop strategy perfectly and were able to move through the field during a yellow flag-interrupted three-hour race to finish fourth overall ahead of nine other rivals in the Gold Cup category in their BMW M4 GT3 EVO. It was another proud day for Al Zubair and the Sultanate of Oman in endurance racing. The Racing Aston Martin was a distant second overall and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi rounded off the Gold Cup podium. A delighted Al Zubair said: 'I'm happy to clinch the win in the Gold Cup Category. Honestly, this is a dream come true. Especially because we started the race from seventh on the grid. But the strategy from Team WRT was excellent. We had the speed throughout the weekend, but in qualifying we faced some issues, particularly in Q3. 'Fourth position in the overall classification and winning the Gold Cup category, this was fantastic. I'm very proud to raise the Omani flag high. We are aiming to achieve even more.' From a start position of seventh in the Gold Cup category, Al Zubair held eighth until a full course yellow brought proceedings to a stop after around 20 minutes. The Garage 59 McLaren had the lead from the CSA Racing McLaren. Action resumed around the half-hour mark and Al Zubair made up a place to take seventh shortly afterwards. The Omani maintained his composure and was soon up to sixth with the Garage 59 McLaren continuing to lead from the Racing Aston Martin. Herberth Motorsport's Porsche was sidelined after 13 laps. Al Zubair retained sixth to another full course yellow with around 1hr 50min of the race remaining. The handover to Tuck was a good one and, when action resumed, Tuck held the lead from the Garage 59 McLaren and the Verstappen Aston. The leading six Gold Cup cars were tightly bunched but Tuck retained the lead through 48 laps with 68 minutes of the race remaining. The CSA Racing McLaren had fallen by the wayside after 36 laps. With less than an hour to run there was yet another full course yellow with Tuck still leading. Racing resumed under a green flag with 54 minutes to go and the final changeover to Klingmann was a successful one with the team retaining an advantage over the Aston Martin and the Optimum Motorsport McLaren. A seventh interruption to the race happened with 31 minutes to run and Klingmann holding the lead and a superb fourth overall. But it was a brief stoppage and the German retained his position, only for a yellow to halt the race for the eighth time with just three minutes left of the 84-lap race. Al Manar Racing by Team WRT carried out a short unofficial test session on Friday with Al Zubair posting a best lap of 1min 46.840sec. Free practice took place on Saturday morning for the 10-car field and the fastest lap of the session went to the Nordique Racing Mercedes in the hands of Japan's Kotaka Kazuko. Tuck's best run for the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT operation was 1min 46.345sec and that put the BMW M4 in the middle of the group in fifth. Pre-qualifying saw the Al Manar Racing BMW down in a subdued eighth with a best lap of 1min 46.694sec in a session won by the Racing Aston Martin. Klingmann carded a best run of 1min 46.101sec in the first of the two qualifying sessions to put the BMW in sixth of the Gold Cup runners. Tuck ran a 1min 45.826sec lap in Q2 and Al Zubair finished his Q3 stint with a best lap of 1min 46.848sec. With the times collated from the three qualifying stints, the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW lined up on the grid in seventh with pole position falling to the Garage 59 McLaren from the CSA Racing McLaren and the Racing Aston Martin. Action in the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS resumes with the prestigious Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa on June 25th-29th.
Muscat Daily
2 days ago
- Muscat Daily
Al Zubair leads Al-Manar to Gold Cup victory at Monza
Monza– Al Faisal al Zubair and his Al Manar Racing by Team WRT teammates Jens Klingmann and Ben Tuck secured a Gold Cup class win and finished fourth overall in the second round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS at Monza on Sunday. In their BMW M4 GT3 EVO, the team executed a well-timed pit stop strategy to climb from seventh on the grid to take top honours in the Gold Cup. The race, interrupted several times by yellow flags, tested the drivers' consistency and composure across three hours of endurance racing. Al Zubair, who took the opening stint, navigated a competitive field and maintained pressure during the early phases of the race. 'I'm happy to clinch the win in the Gold Cup Category,' said Al Zubair. 'Honestly, this is a dream come true. Especially because we started the race from seventh on the grid. But the strategy from Team WRT was excellent.' He added, 'We had the speed throughout the weekend, but in qualifying we faced some issues, particularly in Q3. Fourth position in the overall classification and winning the Gold Cup category, this was fantastic. I'm very proud to raise the Omani flag high. We are aiming to achieve even more.' The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup will resume with the prestigious Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa from June 25 to 29.
Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Al Zubair leads Merc 2 of N group in Jordan Rally
Omani rally driver Abdullah al Zubair topped the N group in Merc 2 in Jordan International rally which was a strong and more than impressive result, achieving fifth place in the overall rally standings in his Subaru Impreza, followed directly by his teammate Zakariya al Amri. The rally, which consisted of 12 stages, between mountainous and near the Dead Sea, witnessed success in terms of organisation and participation, as 22 cars participated in various categories. Champion Abdullah al Rawahi topped the morning stages on Friday in Til Hilali, Karamah, and Baptism, but he lost the title against Nasser Al Attiyah meanwhile Abdullah al Zubair and his navigator Taha Soomar continued to dominate the Merc 2 group despite the attempts of the rest of the competitors to catch him, especially his direct competitor Zakariya al Amri and his navigator Mohammed al Mazroui and other local competitors from Jordan and Lebanon. Nevertheless, Al Amri still leads the category by 9 points over Al Zubair, who aspires to win the title this year. Abdullah al Zubair secured the lead in his group from the day one and took it easy on himself on the second day, slowing down after securing a significant lead over the competitor chasing him. Al Amri, meanwhile, had a great race but encountered some problems with his car on the day one, which he was able to recover on the following day and gain good times. The second day of the rally, which took place in Panorama, Suwayma and Wadi Nar, in the Merc 2 group witnessed competition between colleagues Abdullah al Zubair and Zakariya al Amri to seize the category title, but Al Zubair presented a balanced and exceptional performance and implemented a clear strategy to maintain the difference between him and the rest, he was able to decide the matter in advance during the first day& 39s competition, and his strong and fast time in the group gave him the lead in the Jordan International Rally category, and he secured 30 points in the category in the Middle East Rally Championship after concluding his fourth round in Jordan, towards competing for the lead. The winner of the first place in the in (N) category, Abdullah al Zubair, with his navigator Taha Soomar, said that the rally was special in terms of the competition, which was fierce in many stages, but thank God I outperformed many of the competitors who had stronger cars and in a larger category than my category, and we succeeded in achieving the goal, which was to win first place in the category to reduce the lead in the group with my colleague Zakariya al Amri, and I am happy with this, I also hope that private sector companies will support the competitors who achieve international successes in the name of the Sultanate, especially since these sports are very expensive. I thank everyone who stood behind us in this rally and championship, the supporters, Taha Soomar's my assistants, and the technical team for the great job, it is worth mentioning that many of those witnessed and drivers at the rally asked Al Zubair to participate next year with an R5 category car, as he was one of the fastest drivers in the rally. For his part, competitor Zakariya al Amri said that the rally was difficult and arduous and he faced some problems in some stages, but he was able to overcome them and and recover and presented an ideal race despite the fierce competition, rough stages and hot weather. He added, 'Thank God, we are still at the top of the Merc 2 group and we will try to maintain this lead in the upcoming rallies and win the category. I thank my navigator Mohammed al Mazroui for all the support, as well as the audience who came to support us in this rally in Jordan from Oman.'
