KUWAIT CITY, July 9: Kuwait Under-18 Youth Basketball team departs this morning for Istanbul, Turkey, where it will undergo a 15-day external training camp in preparation for the Asian Cup qualifiers, "Zone Gulf." The qualifiers will be hosted by Kuwait at the Basketball Association hall in the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Complex from July 29th to August 2nd.

Leading the national youth basketball delegation is Ghazi Al-Otaibi. The team includes Mohsen Al-Mutairi, and Mishal Muhammad Adarian, with Salman Ramadan as coach, Khaled Al-Qallaf as assistant coach, Abdulaziz Al-Mawli as team manager, and 14 players: Ahmed Al-Rashid, Adam Asad, Hamza Asad, Rashid Al-Rashid, Talal Fahd, Abdulaziz Al-Qattan, Abdulaziz Al-Muslim, Adnan Dhabih, Ali Al-Shehab, Omar Al-Issa, Muhammad Al-Dahes, Muhammad Al-Shammari, Adel Al-Sayed, and Wael Al-Anzi.

During the Turkish camp, the team will participate in approximately five trial matches. The technical staff will assess the players' performances to finalize a roster of 12 players who will compete in the Asian qualifiers.

Ghazi Al-Otaibi expressed the team's ambition to secure a spot in the Asian Cup finals in Amman, Jordan, scheduled for early September. He acknowledged the tough competition within the Gulf region due to the teams' closely matched levels but affirmed confidence in the players and administrative support to achieve their goal. Al-Otaibi also noted that the team will engage in five trial matches during the training camp to hone their skills progressively in preparation for the tournament.

Khaled El Anzi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff