a day ago
U-16 Basketball Team continue camp in Buraimi
AHMED AL KAABI
MUSCAT, JUNE 15
The Oman U-16 national basketball team continues its training at the closed internal camp at the Al Buraimi Sports Complex, as part of the final stage of preparations for the Gulf regional qualifiers of the Asian Championship. These qualifiers will be hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain from July 7 to 12, with only two teams from the Gulf earning qualification to the Asian finals.
The camp began last Friday and will run until June 26, under the supervision of Tunisian coach Zouheir Al Ayachi and his Omani assistant, Ali al Balushi. The team is undergoing two training sessions daily morning and evening focused on skill development, tactical awareness, and physical conditioning.
In coordination with the technical staff, the Oman Basketball Association (OBA) plans to arrange friendly matches during an external camp in Bahrain starting June 27 to boost readiness before the qualifiers. The team aims to play four friendly games two against Manama Club, one against Muharraq Club, and another against a local Bahraini academy.
The national team has gone through several preparation phases, starting with weekend camps, followed by a mid-year camp that included trial matches against youth teams from Al Seeb, Al Amerat and Nizwa. These matches provided the coaching staff with valuable opportunities to evaluate the players and address weaknesses. Following the conclusion of the youth league, the team entered a closed camp that included a series of friendly matches in the UAE. Among them was a close game against an academy that ended in a narrow two-point loss, and a strong win over the UAE national team with a score of 56 – 29 — a significant improvement considering that Oman had previously lost to the same team by more than 15 points in the last Gulf Championship.
The current camp includes 15 players: Saddam al Shizawi, Khuzaymah al Shibli, Rashid al Eisai, Mohammed al Shizawi, Abdulrahim al Roushdi, Elyas al Obaidani, Al Mulhim al Obaidani, Abdulsamad al Subaihi, Muhannad al Batashi, Nawar al Bahlouli, Adam al Hinai, Jade al Kindi, Saif al Yahyai, Sami al Busaidy, and Sultan al Sinani.
Also participating in the camp are Ghassan al Busaidy, Director of National Teams, and Amer al Zaidi, the team's physiotherapist, as part of the administrative and medical staff.
In a statement, head coach Zouheir Al Ayachi said, We are working according to a detailed training plan that progresses from improving fitness to focusing on both team and individual tactics. There is a clear improvement in the players' performance, especially in passing and off-the-ball movement.
Al Ayachi emphasised that the upcoming external camp in Bahrain will be a decisive step in the team's preparations, pointing to the value of the friendly matches to be played there.
The coaching staff hopes that this intensive preparation will result in an honorable performance in the qualifiers and achieve the goal of qualifying for the Asian Championship finals.
