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Amazing to be part of Europe's ABA league, say Dubai Basketball players
The ABA League serves as a qualifying tournament for the EuroLeague, considered the second most important basketball league globally after the NBA
Dubai Basketball players during a training session. — Supplied photo
Professional players of newly-established Dubai Basketball franchise which will play in Europe this season, have spoken of their joy of being part of history and have vowed to do the city and country proud when their first-ever campaign begins this month.
The club, founded by UAE’s Abdulla Saeed Al Naboodah, are set to play in Europe’s Adriatic Basketball Association (ABA) League for the 2024/25 season.
Their first match will be against Serbian Red Star on September 22 at 14,000 basketball capacity Coca-Cola Arena.
The ABA League serves as a qualifying tournament for the EuroLeague, considered the second most important basketball league globally after the National Basketball Association (NBA) in North America.
A strong roster of 12 players hailing from eight countries including the Philippines, USA, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Jordan and Turkey have been assembled for this historic season with many looking forward to playing in front of their home fans at Coca-Cola Arena.
“To sign for this club means a lot to me. I always love a new challenge and it’s nice to be part of a team that has brought together accomplished players – some of whom have been my idols," Thirdy Ravena of the Philippines said.
"To represent Dubai and the Philippines in a European league also means a lot to me and hopefully we can do our best for the city.”
Despite only arriving a few days before, the 27-year-old has been impressed with the club’s ambition.
“It's crazy how they managed to pull everything off in a short space of time. It shows how determined they are and the desire that they have to bring the best chances for the team to succeed,” he said.
One of his new teammates is Leon Radosevic, a former Bayern Munich player and a former U-19 world bronze medallist.
The 34-year-old Croatian has promised to do all he can for Dubai Basketball in what he said was an easy decision to join.
“It's amazing to be part of this big project in such a nice city as Dubai,” he said. “As soon as I heard that Dubai was forming a team, I spoke to my agent jokingly if I could play for them. I then got a phone call from my agent to ask if I was interested and now here I am.
“I’m very impressed with the club’s ambition. We all want to create a lot of joy for everyone in Dubai and UAE which is a wonderful place to play basketball.”
Also part of the squad is Klemen Prepelic, a 2017 European champion with the Slovenian national team and a former Real Madrid player. The 31-year-old cannot wait to wear the jersey colours in the League.
“It's a privilege to be part of this first team and we are all looking forward to doing something special. I got the call from the head coach and after hearing of the club’s ambitions, I agreed to the deal very quickly," Prepelic said.
“We are a group of great guys of a high calibre. Dubai playing in a European league is special and have big plans to play in the EuroLeague one day so it’s exciting to be part of this.”
For Aleksa Uskokovic, the 25-year-old Serbian point guard, said he is excited to be part of this new chapter for Dubai Basketball.
“It's going to be fun but also hard as we're a new team. The city is very nice so we have everything that we need to train at our best," he said.
"All the facilities we have here are at the highest level while the city is amazing, and hopefully we can target a place in the playoff and go from there.”
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