Qatar captain Mohamed Yousuf has exuded confidence his team have the resources to beat Hong Kong today in their opening match of the Asian Games basketball competition.
“We do not have an easy game against Hong Kong. We respect them but we are here to win and progress to the next phase of the tournament,” Yousuf said on the eve of the match.
He added that his players were fully prepared and raring to go.
“We prepared for the championship with a camp in Serbia for two weeks. The team is at its best, physically and technically and we look forward to the start of the competition today. We hope to overcome Hong Kong because this will boost our morale to face the other teams in the tournament.
“However, it won’t be easy. There are some good teams here who will be aiming to make their mark,” he added.
Qatar are in group C which also includes Chinese Taipei and Japan, with the top two teams advancing to the quarter-finals.
Yesterday the team hit the Gilangang Sumantri Gymnasium where coach Tim Lewis put them through their paces with an emphasis on the technical aspects of the game.
South Korea are the defending champions, having beaten Iran 79-77 in 2014.
