DOHA: The Qatar Cup will start on Saturday, the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) announced yesterday after conducting the draw ceremony for the 10-team event.
Also yesterday, the QBF conducted draws for the Emir Cup — the country’s top basketball event — that will start after the Qatar Cup.
Yesterday the draw ceremonies were held in the presence of QBF Secretary General Mohamed Ali Hobesh and other club representatives.
Al Arabi, Al Khor and Qatar SC are in Group A of the Qatar Cup. Last year’s runners-up El Jaish is paired in Group B with Al Sadd, Al Ahli, Wakra and Al Shamal.
Al Ahli will take on Al Wakrah in the opening game of the Qatar Cup at Al Gharafa Indoor Hall.
On the same day and venue, Al Arabi will play Al Sadd in a game that starts at 7pm.
On Sunday, Al Khor take on Al Shamal while Qatar SC play El jaish in two games at Al Gharafa Indoor Hall.
A day later, Al Rayyan play Al Sadd while Al Ahli take on Al Arabi at the same venue.
The quarter-finals will be played on April 24 and 26 while the semi-final clashes will be staged on April 28.
The preliminary stage ends on April 22 with a game between Al Gharafa and Qatar SC.
The tournament will have altogether 27 games, including the all-important final on April 30.
In the Emir Cup, the opening clash will be between Al Arabi and Al Khor — it was confirmed during a draw ceremony held by the QBF yesterday.
The opening clash will be played at Al Gharafa Indoor Sports Hall on May 5. Qatar SC will take on Al Rayyan at the same venue on the same day in a game that will start at 7pm.
On May 6, Al Ahil face Al Wakrah while Al Sadd take on Al Shamal in two games scheduled for the second day of the prestigious basketball event.
On May 9, defending champions Al Gharafa face Qatar SC while Al Rayyan take on Al Arabi. The preliminary stage ends on May 19.
Gharafa coach Koussay Al Khalaf said his team was confident ahead of the Emir Cup.
“It’s a fair grouping and I am expecting some strong competitions this year in the tournament,” Al Khalaf said.
“This time last year’s winner and runners-up have been put in the different groups so that the other teams also have equal chance to prove their mettle and QBF deserves praise for adopting the procedure. So this is a welcome move,” he said.
“I feel the draws for both the big championships look fairly even. All the top four teams are equally divided in the two groups and even the upcoming teams like Shamal, Wakrah, Qatar Sports Club and Arabi have a chance to do well,” he said.
“The cups are not played on the format of the league. Even the smaller teams have an opportunity to play well against big teams, upset them and qualify for to the semi-finals. All the teams will make some changes and try to get stronger for the upcoming events,” he added.
The Emir Cup quarter-finals will be played on May 22 and 24. The semi-finals will be staged on May 26. The all-important final is scheduled for May 29 when the basketball season concludes at Losail Sports Hall.
Last week, Al Rayyan beat El Jaish in the final game of a best-of-three series to win the Qatar Basketball League title.
THE PENINSULA
