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Dubai: Khalifa Al Shaiba, Al Wasl basketball team's skipper, was very pleased at his team clinching the league title for the third successive year and the eighth time in the club's history.
Al Wasl defeated Al Nasr 87-75 in the final and Khalifa - the most experienced player in the Al Wasl and UAE basketball circuit - played a significant role in the final. His inspirational leadership and three-pointers were decisive in Al Wasl winning the league title for the third season in a row.
"Al Nasr defeated us in the first leg final at their indoor courts. If they had beat us in the second final, they could have won the title. However, we recovered and beat them to take the final to a third and decisive match at the Al Nasr indoors, where we beat them to keep the title for the third successive season," Khalifa told Gulf News.
Wake-up call
The lanky player said that the defeat in the first final was a good wake-up call. "The defeat was like a slap in the face. We sat together before the second final at home, analysed the reasons behind our defeat and made necessary corrections," he recalled.
"We played with different tactics and stopped Al Nasr's three-pointer threat. We also played with the same tactics in the decisive match, won it with a 12-point difference to clinch the title."
Khalifa praised his teammates and their excellent efforts in the final matches. "Ourl players proved they are the best in the UAE league as most of them are members of the national team."
He felt that foreign players could contribute a lot to UAE basketball. "If the foreign professional is good, he will add to the team's standards. If he is not, the local players and the team will not benefit from him. For example in the finals against Al Nasr, our foreign players (one American and another from Ivory Coast) were much superior than the Al Nasr foreigners."
The Al Wasl skipper promised that they would prepare well for the external tournaments in Doha and Kuwait.
"We will take part in the GCC basketball tournament in Qatar in the third week of April and the Asian championship in Kuwait next month. We hope to achieve success in both tournaments."
Khalifa said that he has not yet decided when to retire.
"I will not quit as long as the team needs me. I can never say no to Al Wasl, whom I have played for ever since I was a rookie."
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