Dear Buzzerbeater Friends
At the beginning of last season, I had the opportunity to coach the UAE U21 team. We started as the 91st seed (out of 98 teams).
Season 70 saw us win three games in a row, all against higher-ranked teams (63rd Nippon U21 86 – 87th UAE U21, 87th UAE U21 122 – 119th India U21, and 58th Saudi Arabia U21 80 – 84th UAE U21). In Season 71, we qualified for the consolation round, finishing 25th out of 82 teams. Here, we achieved a remarkable feat in the history of UAE U21 basketball, winning four games in a row. This time, however, all of these victories were against weaker opponents. (Austria U21 112-117 U.A.E. U21, Kazakhstan U21 79-77 U.A.E. U21 79-96 U.A.E. U21, and Ecuador U21 105-88-90 U.A.E. U21). In the knockout stage, we played against the Philippines U21 team. They were seeded 8th and we were seeded 25th. As expected, we lost 65-108.
In total, 21 players were used in these two seasons (not including subsequent training matches, which will be played with new players).
Most games played:
Kalil Bashani 20
Abir Haj-Akram 19
Teniz Ibrahim Sleiman and Ababneh Zuhri both 17
Most points played:
Temiz Husayn and Ababneh Zuhri both 37 (Husayn in 10 games, Zuhri in 17 games)
Hakim Aziz 34 (10 games)
Teniz Ibrahim Sleiman 31 (17 games)
Seven players have left us due to age, but new players have joined the team, so we currently have 15 players. There might be one or two more changes.
I would be happy to stand for re-election. If you think another coach would do a better job, everything is in place to ensure we don't suddenly find ourselves without any players, as has unfortunately happened in other countries.
I am very grateful for the trust placed in me and I can say that I would like to continue supporting the U.A.E. U21 team. There is still so much potential!
Man ist erst besiegt, wenn man sich geschlagen gibt!