Khaberni - The Director of Basketball Activities at Al-Wehdat Club, Abdel Rahman Jum'a, confirmed that the club will include national coach Sam Duglas today to take over the training of the basketball team in the upcoming stage, replacing the dismissed Greek coach Antonios Doukas.
Jum'a explained that the choice fell on Duglas after searching for local coaches who have distinct experiences, and are capable of understanding the current players and utilizing their capabilities to achieve the best results, noting that Duglas was the ideal choice due to his experiences at the level of clubs and national teams, according to Al-Ghad.
He added: “Coach Doukas was tested in the first phase of the basketball league, and the decision to dismiss him was the best for the club for technical, administrative, and even disciplinary reasons inside the team premises, and we hope that Duglas will bring the anticipated value needed to reclaim the league title for the club's treasury anew.”
Jum'a pointed out that the termination of the contract with the Nigerian player Joseph Obasa came based on his failure to perform optimally in the first phase, in addition to the fact that the club's income and budget in basketball are not high, which necessitated bringing in a foreign player at a low cost in the first half of the season.
He continued: “In the next rounds of the league championship alongside the cup tournament in Ramadan, there will be a selection of foreign players, with intentions leaning towards players from the United States of America, along with a player of Arabic nationality yet to be determined, in coordination with the new coach.”
Jum'a clarified that the employment of the American player Tilman for only one game, which was against Al-Faisaly at the end of the first phase, was at the request of the Greek coach due to a shortage in the player’s position, confirming that the player has a professional contract in China and will not continue in the next phase, and that the costs of bringing him were covered by a businessman and did not burden the club's treasury in any way.
He concluded his speech: “Al-Wehdat does not participate in any championship without aiming to compete for it, and we are aware that the start was not successful with the team ranking fourth and suffering more than one loss, yet we aspire to compete for the league title until the last breath, and the cup championship as well.”
