“YouTube” leads the Zambaanga team in the “Dubai Basket”

In its first appearance in the Dubai International Basketball Championship, which is currently being held at Al-Nasr Club and continues until the second of next February, the Zamboanga Philippine team relies on the services of playmaker Kit Jimenez (21 years old), who is very popular on the YouTube platform, where he enjoys more than He has 200,000 followers, and he uses them to publish video clips that reflect his talent in the game, which led him a year ago to become a professional in the Philippine Premier League.

Kate, who was born in Saudi Arabia, told Emirates Today: “Since my family and I returned to the Philippines, I started playing basketball, which is the first popular game in my country, before I actually moved five years ago to publish clips about my skills in the game on the YouTube platform.” ) And videos of the matches that I play in outdoor areas, in a step that opened the door for me to enter the world of professionalism, and realize my dream of playing in the Philippine League.

He explained: “The videos that I published received great follow-up among the Filipino community, and in 2022, those videos received the attention of officials at the Sarangai Marlins Club, who contacted me to join their team, and in 2023 I succeeded in joining the Gun Suns team and winning the crown with them.” In my first season, I won the league title, in a contract that later allowed me to move and sign with my current team. Regarding participation in the Dubai Championship, he said: “The tournament is very popular, and I am happy to record my first participation in it, especially since the Filipino teams have for years become a constant competitor for the title, and they previously won the championship cup in the 2020 edition with the (Mighty Sport) team.”

He concluded: “I look forward, along with my team, to presenting levels that will delight the large Filipino audience that usually fills the hall’s stands, and has been able to highlight, through social media platforms, the extent of the growing popularity of this tournament in our country.”

Beirut and Strong Group are at the top of the first group today

At nine o’clock this evening, the Lebanese Beirut team and the Philippine team Strong Group will participate in a summit match that brings them together for the fourth round of the preliminary league, and the two teams that share the same balance, amounting to four points, are looking forward to achieving the third victory and being alone at the top of the standings of the first group.

At seven in the evening, Al-Sharjah of the Emirates and Al-Ahly Tripoli will meet, in a confrontation for the second group, which both teams call for with the slogan of the second victory, after Al-Sharjah achieved, the day before yesterday, victory over the newcomer, the Zamboanga team, the Philippines, with a score of (97-82), while the Libyan team launched its journey with the victory. Over Tunisia (83-70).

A “triple shot” gives the basketball team victory over Ittihad Amman

De Marco leads the national team to a difficult victory over the Jordanian Ittihad Amman team. Photography: Salem Khamis

The successful three-pointer from the playmaker, DeMarco Dixon, in the final seconds, led the national team to achieve its first victory in the “Dubai Basket” tournament over the Jordanian Ittihad Amman Club by one point (97-96), in the match that brought them together, yesterday, for the first group within The third round of the group stage, and the 24 points scored by De Marco, including his final three-pointer, contributed to giving the team the opportunity to return with the result of the match in its final seconds, after losing the lead throughout its stages.

Despite the strong start of the team during the first half, and the “White” players gaining the advantage in the results of the first and second quarters (30-25 and 22-16), the beginning of the second half marked an awakening for the Jordanian team players, leading them to absolute dominance over the result of the third quarter (32-20). ), and the lead by one point, so the match entered its fourth period, which recorded in its first minutes a clear advantage for the Jordanians, before the team was able again to reduce the difference and decide the fourth period. (25-22), and emerged with a difficult victory by one point.

Tomorrow, the team will meet the Lebanese team Beirut, who leads the group, in a match in which the team will search for its second victory, especially since “Al-Abyad” stumbled in its opening match against the Philippine “Strong Group” with a score of (91-99).