JEDDAH, 19 December 2006 — Playing sports is a great way to get the family together in a fun and exciting atmosphere. The Jeddah United Father and Son basketball tournament provided a great chance for families to get outdoors and enjoy the cool December breeze.
Six teams competed against each other. Each team had fathers and their sons compete against other teams in a friendly tournament with families supporting their loved ones. After the initial round of league matches, four teams made it to the knockout semifinals.
The tournament took place last Thursday with the Jeddah United Black team (Ayman Hashim, Yousif Hashim, Hammam Assad, Marwan Assad, Abdullah Assad, Ibrahim Kayal, and Ammar Nassief) winning first place.
Most Valuable Player Marwan Assad gave a sterling display of speed and agility to lead his Black team to the championship. Jeddah United Black team defeated the Gray team which included Fayez Alshehri, Ali Alshehri, Saleh Kamil, Abdullah Lawri, Omar Lawri, Omar Abughazaleh and Abdul Kareem Abu Dawood in a well-fought final encounter, with every basket enthusiastically cheered and appreciated by all those present.
The Jeddah United Green Team earned third place with Emad Madani, Mansoor Madani, Capt. Sahl Awlia, and son Mohamed Awlia, Omar Nassief, Muhammed Hashim, Khaled Al Safadi and Hani Al Ziben.
Other teams included — Red Team: Ihsan Abughazaleh, Rami Abughazaleh, Yazeed Abughazaleh, Fawaz Abughazaleh, Muhammad Bakur and Adel Bakur. Blue team: Muhammad Hashim, Waleed Arab Hashim, Abdul Majeed Waleed Hashim, Faisal Sarhan, Mohsen Sarhan, Omar Al Maeena and Siraj Attar. Yellow Team: Amr Kayal, Majed Kayal, Ali Hussain Alireza, Hussain Alireza, Hassan Alireza, Zaid Hassan Alireza and Hisham Attar.
Eng. Rami Abughazaleh of Al Baik and Jeddah United Sports Co. Managing Director Obaid Madani distributed prizes at the awarding ceremony at the end of the tournament.
The Father and Son tournament was organized by the Jeddah United Sports Co. (JUSC) at the Al-Kayal court. The objective of the tournament was to bring families closer in an exciting and healthy environment. JUSC has been established to promote sports, manage teams, and organize sports events and tournaments.
JUSC aims at creating an alternative to smoking, driving recklessly in the streets and watching TV for hours. It directs the energy of the youth through basketball.
Mazda and Al Baik were the main sponsors of the tournament. Al Baik gave out DVDs and printers to the winning team. Sportbag distributed gifts and designed the T-shirts for the tournament. Jeoffrey’s coffee contributed to the tournament by serving delicious cappuccinos and desserts. The dinner was catered by Al Baik sandwiches.
The referees who conducted the matches efficiently were: Waleed Rahwan, Ezzudeen Ashrour, Amin Bahartha and Mohammad Hilmi.
Hani Al-Ziben won the contest for the best shooter among the fathers.
The organizers who worked hard to make the event successful were JUSC Managing Director Obaid Madani, Sultan Madani, Lina Almaeena, head coach Umar Abdulsalam, coach Osman Barnawi, Dania Almaeena, Sara Almaeena, Nora Ashrour, Marwa Ashrour, Maha Bin Laden, Mariam Islam, and Mohammad Azzam.
The guests of honor were Madani Rehaimi, Dr. Saud Islam and Khaled Almaeena.
Jeddah United senior boys is a private basketball team that is challenging, and is one of five other divisions: Jeddah United kids, Jeddah United junior girls, Jeddah United junior boys, and Jeddah United women.
Jeddah United team have the New York flavor with head coach Umar Abdulsalam’s experience with NBA players like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Dr. J Julius Erving, as well as legends of Harlem Globetrotters. Along with coach Abdulsalam is coach Osman Barnawi who has 16 years’ experience and who has played for the Saudi national basketball team. Jeddah United members believe in positive attitude, sportsmanship, team leadership, team spirit, and self-control.
