Qatar win 3x3 basketball gold on final day of GCC Beach Games

Qatar Olympic Committee secretary general and Organizing Committee president HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, 2nd GCC Beach Games executive director Khalid al-Muhanadi, Qatar Basketball Federation general secretary Mohamed Ali Hobesh and other officials with the medal winners of the 3x3 basketball event at 2nd GCC Beach Games yesterday. Qatar A won gold beating UAE A in the final.

By Sports Reporter/DohaSecond GCC Beach Games yesterday concluded with a gold for the hosts as Qatar A defeated UAE A 21-14 in the final of the 3x3 basketball.Oman, with a total of 10 medals, including five golds, four silvers and one bronze, topped the medals tally. Qatar was a close second with six medals, four gold, one silver and one bronze, while the UAE was in third position with 9 medals in total, including one gold, three silvers and five bronzes. Yaseen Musa, Mohamed Saleem Abdullah, Tanguy Alban and Erfan Ali Saeed of Qatar A avenged their first Pool B game defeat as they thrashed them before the stipulated time at the Gharafa Beach Complex.“I am happy with the win. The GCC Beach Games title was missing from my cupboard. I have won the GCC 3x3 both clubs and nations. I have the Asian title. I also have the World championship (last year). Now I have got the missing one as well,” a delighted Qatar A captain Yaseen Ismail Musa said.“Also this was our home tournament. There was pressure after we had lost to them in the group league. But we were determined to do well in the final and we’re happy to emerge the champions,” Musa, who led Qatar to the 3x3 world championship triumph in Moscow last year, said.“The final was a tough one. They had the quick release and we had fine inside game. They tried to use it against us but the good thing was we hardly gave them open shots… We closed the two-point shot on many occasions and I think they had only one two-pointer.”His teammate Tanguy Ngombo said, “We were the home team so we had to show our strength. We just tried to play well. We hardly wasted a shot in the beginning and that fetched us a good lead and then it was easy to carry on the good work.”In the first semifinal Qatar A defeated Qatar B 21-10, while UAE A defeated Kuwait A 19-15 in the second. In the bronze medal match Kuwait A defeated Qatar B 21-14.However, it was a very disappointed day for the Emiratis as they lost two finals on the last day of the competition. Earlier in the evening, before losing the basketball final, the Asian champions Oman showed their beach soccer pedigree as they came from behind to defeat UAE 5-3 in the football final.Qatar footballers also ended their campaign without a victory as they conceded two own goals and spurned a penalty chance before losing the football bronze medal match to Kuwait 3-6.In a match that showed the home team’s inexperience, Kuwaitis were always ahead of the rivals. Qatar twice stormed back and cut the deficit to just one goal. But Kuwait managed to foil the hosts’ efforts with spirited defence and won the bronze medal.Qatar captain Jafal rued the lack of competition at home sand. He said his team battled hard as the standard of other teams was quite high. “We tried to put up our best. However, we could not match them,” he said. “We had a good chance to finish third but we had two own goals and then we missed a penalty, besides several other scoring opportunities.“We have good players and we can improve in the future. For this, we need more matches and competition. I’ve heard that soon we’re going to have a proper league. I feel strong that this would lift our standard in future.”In the Open Water Swimming 10km race, Oman’s Mohamed al-Habasi continued to best his opponents and clocked in a time of 1:59:43.77 taking home the gold medal, leaving his compatriot Muslim al-Khoudori in second place and Yousuf al-Askari trailing in the third position.Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee and President of the Organizing Committee HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani distributed the medals to the winners of the 3x3 basketball event.Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Saoud said: “We are honoured to have hosted the 2nd GCC Beach Games and we are confident that this edition has set a new standard for the hosting of future GCC Beach Games and raised the profile of Beach sports across the whole of the GCC. We are very proud of the performance of all our athletes and we hope that the high-level competition has inspired young people across our nation and our region and fostered their passion for sport.”The 2nd GCC Beach Games shows Gulf Cooperation Council’s commitment to sport in general, and beach games in particular, which have recently grown to become a major focus for international sport.GCC National Olympic Committees, during an Executive Board meeting of the GCC Beach Games earlier yesterday, reaffirmed their commitment to the GCC Beach Games which offers invaluable experience for athletes, officials and hosts alike.Attending the Executive Board Meeting were Secretary General of the Bahrain Olympic Committee Abdulrahman Askar, and Taha al-Kethairi, Secretary General of the Oman Olympic Committee, who praised Qatar’s hosting of the Games, emphasising that Qatar has once again set a new standard by hosting a unique and innovative edition. They also praised the addition of rowing to this year’s Games, especially in light of Qatar hosting the prestigious GCC Rowing Championship in 2016.BELOW:Qatar Olympic Committee secretary general and Organizing Committee president HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, 2nd GCC Beach Games executive director Khalid al-Muhanadi and other officials with the medal winners of the beach soccer event at 2nd GCC Beach Games yesterday. Oman won gold beating UAE in the final.