The young talent Salem Khalifa Abdullah (15 years old) has shone in the ranks of the national team participating in the Al Wahda International Basketball Championship, currently being held at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi until September 25, in an experience that Salem described as “exceptional”, not only because he is the youngest player in the history of the national team’s participation in an international championship, but also because he has gained experience in interacting with and competing with the elite foreign professionals included in the championship teams, especially those who have previously played in the famous American professional basketball league “NBA”.
Salem Khalifa told Al-Emarat Al-Youm: “I thank the national team’s technical staff, led by technical director Dr. Mounir Ben Habib, for the opportunity to be on the field, participate in front of an elite group of foreign professionals, and gain strong experience in playing against players who have a high-level professional record, especially those who have previously played in the American Professional League.”
“We played our opening match against Al Ittihad Alexandria, in a match during which I was given confidence to be on the pitch for more than 20 minutes, and to face players who represent the elite of the strong Egyptian national team, in addition to gaining strong contact with the foreign professionals that the Al Ittihad team includes, especially their star Jordan Ray, who previously played in the NBA, in addition to his experience in the European leagues,” he explained.
“The technical staff had previously given me the opportunity to participate with the national team in the William Jones Championship held last July, during which I succeeded in scoring my first points with the national team, before the technical staff renewed their confidence in me and gave me an additional opportunity to participate again with the Whites, and gain experience against elite clubs in Asia and Africa, as part of a clear strategy by the game’s association and the technical staff to give young players more opportunities to interact, especially since the Whites’ list in this tournament includes six players between the ages of 15 and 23,” he added.
Salem Khalifa, who plays with Al Wasl’s youth team in the local league, pointed out the encouragement he receives when he enters the pitch from the experienced national team players, saying: “I listen to the advice and encouragement given to me by players of the stature of Rashid Nasser and Jassim Mohammed, who have been playing with the national team for a long time, especially since their advice to me focuses on the importance of maintaining focus and not being afraid of facing players who have strong experience in international leagues, in the same way as the lists of club players participating in the Al Wahda International.”
Regarding his future ambitions, Salem Khalifa said: “I have great ambitions to continue honing my skills, and I look forward to getting the opportunity to play in America, and encouraging young talents who are included in the clubs that the opportunity is available to them to represent the national team.”
Al Naqbi: We invest in the championship to give young players more confidence
“We are keen to give the young players real opportunities to be on the court in the same way that Salem Khalifa participated in such tournaments, during which we look forward to investing in the strong confrontations to gain more confidence for our young players, and to raise the readiness of all our players before the second window of the final stage of the Asian qualifiers next November, especially since the influential injuries to the main players had a major impact on the results of the team during the first window last February,” said Rashid Al Naqbi, Director of the National Basketball Teams.
He concluded: “Participating in the (Unity International) comes within the team’s preparation map for upcoming events, whether the Arab Teams Championship during the period from November 8 to 18, which is in itself the final rehearsal before the important event in the second window of the final stage of the Asian qualifiers in which we will meet the Lebanese and Bahraini teams, due to the importance of these qualifiers in being able to continue the journey of the UAE basketball team’s return to the (A) classification level, which allows participation in Asian tournaments, in addition to competing for the qualifying cards for the World Cup.” It is noteworthy that the team played two matches in the “Unity International”, the first of which brought it together with Al-Ittihad of Alexandria and ended with its loss (86-106), and the second against Al-Karkh of Iraq (88-106).
Promising star:
I listen to the advice and encouragement given to me by players of the stature of Rashid Nasser and Jassim Mohammed.
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