JEDDAH, 8 May 2007 — Effat College ladies basketball team got the better of Medical Green Team in a tightly fought final to win by 36-35 in the fifth Effat College Annual Basketball Annual Championship here.
The two teams faced each other in the finale for the third year in a row with Effat scoring their breakthrough victory. “I think the reason is that Amina Al-Nahdi and I are the only coaches who are academically specialized in basketball coaching so as a result the girls we train have higher standards and better skills,” said Maysoon Al-Sowayigh, sports officer at Effat College. She is also recognized as a referee from the Emirates Basketball Federation.
The players are trained in campus and three team members are veterans having played for more than three years in a row in the tournament. They are Maysan Mamoun, Mays Abdullah and Afaf Intabi, who was named the best shooter in this championship.
“The competition was burning in the final match since the Green Team is a strong and has harmony between its members. We were hoping to win and we did it,” said Intabi. She also added that what might made the opponent team lose the match is that their defense was not organized and got into foul trouble.
“I hope that our team will play on international level since we are qualified and well-trained for that. It is not against our religion. On the contrary, it encourages sports and the prophet use to race his wife Aisha,” she said.
Other players in the team are still beginners and joined the competition for the first time but succeeded to bring success to their team with continuous training. “As you know a healthy mind is a healthy body and these are students achieving high GPAs in their majors in addition to their sports activities,” said Al-Sowayigh.
Al-Sowayigh was the technical supervisor of the championship and referee during the matches and the other referee was Najla Al-Harthi, who is also an accredited referee from Lebanon.
The championship was under the patronage of Princess Loulwah Al-Faisal, vice chair of the board of trustees and general supervisor of the college. It took place from April 21 to 30.
The annual championship that witnessed a strong competition among colleges and schools in Jeddah had seven educational instates in the fifth year.
The schools were Effat College, Green Medical Team, College of Business Administration (CBA), Dar Al-Fikr School, Al-Hamra School, Jazirat Al-Ulooom and Fatat Al-Mustakbal Schools.
Jazeerat Al-Uloom School finished third in this championship. Fatat Al-Mostaqbal School took the Clean Play prize, Dar Al-Fikr School the Sportsmanship award and Al-Hamra School was named the ideal team.
The college started the championship in 2003. Last year, the Green Medical Team beat Effat College 45-36.
