JEDDAH, 21 April 2007 –— A Drink Milk Basketball Tournament for boys in the 7-11 age group organized by Jeddah United Sports Company (JUSC) and supported by Savola Group ended with United Sharks lifting the title here on Thursday night.
Thirty-two boys, who took part in the tournament, were divided into four teams, the other three being runner-up Jeddah Lakers, Mean Machines and Orcaz.
“We turned out to be a better side although the final against Jeddah Lakers was a tough game,” a visibly happy United Sharks’ Captain Abdulaziz Alwasia said.
Jeddah Lakers Captain Abdulmajeed Madani said their weak defense toward the last stages of the match was responsible for their narrow 7-9 defeat.
In the semifinals played earlier, Jeddah Lakers thrashed Mean Machines 12-3.
Qassim Hassan Alireza received the ‘Most valuable player of the tournament’ award and Saif Zaid Alsulaiman the highest scorer prize. Best sportsmanship award went to Mean Machines who played without their captain Rayan Islam who was indisposed. Faris Mosley captained the team and won the ‘Highest spirit’ award.
Befitting the title of the tournament, flavored milk was freely distributed to both players and spectators by Nadec, Nada and Jamjoom Rainbow. Geoffrey’s supported the event by offering its coffee varieties. Head coach Omar Abdul Salam, coach Amin Bahartha, JSUC’s Marketing Manager Dania Almaeena, Coordinator Sara Almaeena, Maha Bin Laden, Assistant Coach Sultan Madani, Shatha Rajab, Marwa Ashrour and Nora Ashrour were among the organizers of the tournament. Score keepers were Tamara Siddiq and Marwan Asaad. Some of the parents present to watch their children in action said that the standard of the tournament was impressive.
“The event shows basketball is gaining in popularity after football,” Lina Almaeena, director of JUSC and captain of the Women’s Basketball Division, said. She thanked Savola Group and referred to Fatin Alyafi’s initiative as manager of its PR and corporate social responsibility department for supporting the event in the interest of youth welfare. Obaid Madani, managing director of JUSC, distributed prizes offered by Toys R Us to the winners. “We are happy with the turnout of participants and spectators,” Madani said and thanked the supporters for their interest in basketball and making the event a success.
According to the organizers, the drink milk concept is a model of ‘Got Milk?’ campaign in the United States where the awareness of ‘Got milk?’ is over 90 percent nationally and considered one of the most important and successful campaigns in history. Latest researches at Indiana University show that chocolate milk beats other sports drinks when it comes to helping athletes recover from intense workouts. Sports nutritionists in the United States have strongly recommended chocolate milk to their athletes.
Chocolate milk’s unique combination of calcium, protein and carbohydrates provide the energy and nutrients children need to strengthen bones, rebuild muscle cells and recover quickly after a vigorous play, according to Stephanie Brooks, founder, Bay Area Nutrition.
Teams — United Sharks: Abdulaziz Alwasia (captain), Mohammad Madani, Sultan Serafi, Abdulilah Kaki and Ahmad Rasheedi; Jeddah Lakers: Abdulmajeed Madani (captain), Mohammad Alshihri, Faisal Baksh, Abdullah Ismail, Saif Alsulaiman, Sakr Azmirly and Omar Alqurashi.
