Adam Rifau Abdul Raheem
In preparation for the SABA Club Championship, Maldivian champions T-Rex Basketball Club proceed with training sessions in Chennai, India.
The first ever club championship by the South Asian Basketball Association will feature the club champions from India, Maldives, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. T-Rex BC qualified after becoming the national basketball champions in 2024.
“The club is excited to represent the Maldives at a national level, and so are the players”, says coach Ali Fazlee. “We are ready to do everything we could to bring out a (good) result from this championship”.
Speaking on the preparation for the SABA championship, assistant coach Gureysh Afrah detailed the process of team-building and addressed injury concerns: “So, as soon as we became domestic champions, we turned our focus into this tournament – starting practice sessions just a week of rest. But coming out of a tournament, it is expected that there will be injuries. That is part of the reason why we travelled here five days ahead, to regroup.
Afrah expresses his confidence in the team’s potential to deliver a good result: “We have transferred in three, really strong foreign players. We are made up of several national team players. So altogether this team will become a strong competitor”.
The championship will tip off on Wednesday, April 2nd, at Jawaharlul Nehru Stadium’s indoor hall as T-Rex takes on Thimpu Majics of Bhutan in the second game of the day. T-Rex will play Sri Lankan champions Colombo BC on Thursday, and Nepalese side Times BC on Friday.
After one day of rest, the fixtures will continue as T-Rex face Tamil Nadu and Pakistan’s ISB Panthers on Sunday and on Monday respectively.
