Germany wins Fazza Int'l Wheelchair Basketball Tournament

Sport360 staff 17:38 21/05/2015
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  • Champions: Germany wins Thailand with a score of 58-49.

    The 7th Fazza International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament drew to a close yesterday as Germany won their maiden title by emerging victorious in the final match held against Thailand, with a score of 58-49.

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    The 5-day tournament took place at Al Ahli Club in cooperation with the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, Dubai Sports Council and the UAE Paralympic Committee and witnessed the eight best national teams including the host UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Morocco, Australia, Thailand, Germany and Egypt participate in a series of preliminary matches in the run up to the finals.

    While Germany secured the top spot, Thailand emerged as the 1st runner up and Morocco became the 2nd runner up. The 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th positions were occupied by Kuwait, Egypt, the UAE, Oman and Australia respectively.

    The Medal Ceremony was hosted in the presence of H.E. Abdullah bin Dalmook, Chief Executive Officer of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center, H.E. Thani Juma Berregad, Chairman of the Dubai Club for the Disabled and Head of the Organizing Committee for the Fazza Championships for People with Disability, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Hassan Al Hammadi – Chairman of the Technical Committee, Fazza Championships for People with Disability, Mr. Thiban Al Muhairi, Secretary General of the UAE Disabled Sports Federation, Mr. Hamad Beljafla, Head of Public Relations Committee, Fazza Championships for People with Disability, representatives from the Thailand embassy as well as a number of German and Thai supporters.

    Mr. Abdullah bin Dalmouk presented the trophies and distributed medals to the winning champions.

    Mr. Thani Juma Berregad, Chairman of the Dubai Club for the Disabled and Head of the Organizing Committee for the Fazza Championships for People with Disability, said: “We are pleased with the resounding success of the 7th Fazza International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament – Dubai 2015 and I would like extend my admiration for the efforts demonstrated by all the participating teams from all over the region and beyond.

    "We now look forward to building on the success of the past 7 years to offer disabled athletes an even stronger platform to showcase their talents and enhance their sports abilities and to help them prepare for international tournaments by giving them the opportunity to play against the best teams in the field.”

    Commenting on the successful closing of the 7th edition of the Fazza International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, Souad Ibrahim Darwish – Director of Fazza Championships at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center, said: “I would like to congratulate Germany for winning the title and for showcasing one spectacular performance after another throughout the tournament.

    "I congratulate the national team of the UAE as well for their praiseworthy efforts and we wish them all the best for next year. I extend my gratitude to all the teams that participated and for giving us the opportunity to host them here in Dubai."

    UAE vs Germany.

    Souad Ibrahim Darwish praised the support and efforts of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, for his commitment in championing the cause of people with disabilities, as part of his “My Community… A City for Everyone” initiative.

    “The tournament reinforces Dubai’s position as a top destination for sports tourism and one of the friendliest cities for the disabled community and it was an honor to host a group of extremely professional and well-known teams from around the world this year, with Egypt, Morocco and Thailand participating for the first time ever,” Souad added.

    Germany’s continuous winning streak throughout the tournament resulted in the under-22 team taking home their maiden title.

    The final battle between Germany and Thailand turned out to be an exciting and action-packed contest with Germany leading the first quarter with a score of 15-12 and the teams breaking even over the second quarter at 27-27 on the account of a strong comeback of Thai players.

    In the third quarter Germany sustained their dominance with a score of 47-33 and defeated Thailand at the end of fourth quarter by 9 points with a score of 58-49.

    Germany vs Thailand.

    Expressing his happiness on his team winning the tournament, German team coach, Peter Richarz, said, “This was a tremendous experience for the German players as they got the chance to play against some very different teams.

    "Ours is a young team so the tournament offered the athletes a fantastic platform to play against older players. We are thrilled to be taking home the title after facing strong Arab teams who demonstrated excellent defense strategies.”

    As first-time participants, the Thailand team put up a strong fight throughout the tournament, winning all the matches excluding the final to secure the 1st-runner up spot – attracting the support of many Thai supporters in the audience.

    Thailand was to beat.

    With 147 points to his credit (at an average of 29.4 points per game) Thailand’s captain Jamjarean Aekkasit was awarded the ‘Best Scorer of the Tournament’ title.  

    In a spirit of sportsmanship and admiration, Thai supporters congratulated the German players for their outstanding performance and winning the title and German supporters applauded the efforts of the Thailand team. 

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