POSTED BY: Eurobasket Center
A 12-memberBahrain women's basketball team is gearing up for the Arab Championship scheduled in Dubai from May 24 to June 1.
The team, under their Bahraini veteran coach Salman Ramadhan, will be in the fray along with nine teams which will be divided into two groups.
Ramadhan, whose contract ends on June 22, said the team members have been preparing for two weeks at Muharraq Club and are looking forward for a place on the podium although it's the first competition for them at such a level.
"The players are young and need more experience which is why we're are participating in the tournament. But on the other hand, they are eager to put up a good display and clinch one of the top three positions," added the 47-year-old coach.
Ramadhan is also in charge of the men's senior national team taking part in the four-team Goodwill Games scheduled on June 14 and 15. The team will start training for this event from the first week of next month.
But Ramadhan, who will complete his third year as national teams' coach, informed the Basketball Association (BBA) that he no longer wishes to stay with the team.
Ramadhan admitted that officials from his former club Manama have been trying to get him back to coach the club team which is one reason why he decided to quit from the national team.
"It is very sad to quit the national team but t also feels good to go back to my favourite club," said Ramadhan who is a holder of NBA coaching certificates from the US.
Ramadhan, who won seven league and five cup titles between 1994 and 2003, is set to take over the club from Ahmed Hamzah who led the team last season to a double
However, Ramadhan confirmed that he has not signed for the club yet and negotiations are still on.
Meanwhile, the BBA began their search for a new coach for both seniors and under-17 national teams, said BBA assistant general secretary Abdulreda Qurban.
Qurban said the association is presently studying the bio-data of several international coaches and will start negotiating with some of them by the end of this month.
The association's national teams committee, headed by BBA president Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, is looking for a coach with vast experience in the region and ready to take charge of the teams in upcoming events.
Qurban said the seniors team will be taking part in the GCC Championship in Doha from August 28 to September 5 while the under-17, which won the GCC Cup last year, will represent the region in the Asian Championship to be held in Beijing from September 15 to 21.
The new coach will replace Ramadhan.
Since Ramadhan took charge of the national teams, he has contributed to major regional and international achievements.
But Ramadhan's best result was with the Bahrain under-21 team which won the GCC Championship last year in August in Kuwait which was the Kingdom's first basketball title.
Alexa Hart (ex Aulnoye) is a second import added to the roster of Al-Hala
