Omani teenager wins award at UAE basketball camp

MUSCAT: There are not many times when an Omani is part of a joint event organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). And to top it all, the talented Omani teenager bagged an award.

Muscat-based Mohammed Salah Al Raisi was the proud recipient of the “Best Sportsmanship Award” at the NBA-FIBA organized Basketball Without Borders (BWB) NBA Abu Dhabi Elite Asia camp that was held from June 2-5 at the New York University campus in the United Arab Emirates.

The camp was held in cooperation with the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT-Abu Dhabi). This was the first time the NBA and FIBA's global basketball development and community outreach program was held in the GCC region.

BWB Asia 2023 brought together the top 40 male and female players, aged 18 and under, from across Asia to learn directly from current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA ​​players, legends and coaches and compete alongside their peers from the region.

Mohammed was the only one picked by the Oman Basketball Association (OBA) and not only did he impress the coaches and his peers with his skills, he was also awarded the “sportsmanship award” for his fair play, sporting values, camaraderie, integrity and good behaviour.

Mohammed, 17, and a student of Azzan bin Qais International School (ABQ), also took part in life skills, leadership development and NBA Cares programming.

In his remarks to Times of Oman, Mohammed said: “I am very happy to have attended such a top-level camp. It helped me a lot in learning skills and I was fortunate to get guidance from NBA coaches and players.

“I also got the opportunity to meet players from different Asian countries who have distinguished talents. It was a great feeling to be awarded the “Best Sportsmanship Award” at the camp. 

He added: “The camp also put up a video clip of my training with a caption: One of the fastest players in training.”

Mohammed thanked OBA and his coaches for nominating him for this camp. Mohammed started his career in basketball three years ago, but has been a quick learner and currently plays for Ahli-Sidab youth team. He has also represented Oman youth team at the GCC Youth Championship last year. A blocker, the tall Mohammed has also been a regular scorer in the youth league.

Mohammed is keen to pursue a career in sports and hopes to take up sports medicine in college. He is an active volunteer at the Dar Al Atta`a charitable organisation.