The vision and mission that began in 2016 will come to fruition on Sunday when Dubai Basketball play host to ABA League defending champions Red Star at the Coca-Cola Arena.
The newly formed club, also known as Dubai BC, take on the Serbian outfit in a historic clash as they become the first UAE team to compete in a major European league. The ABA League is the leading professional basketball competition for teams from the former Yugoslavia and includes clubs from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and Montenegro.
Dejan Kamenjasevic, general manager and co-founder of Dubai Basketball, was the man behind the scenes who spent almost eight years assembling a side to compete in the newly expanded 16-team competition for the next three seasons.
“This journey began a long time ago. We can say 2016 is the first time that we spoke of it, and for me, personally, that there is a huge potential here, that we can do something amazing and something unique,” he said at Tuesday's launch event.
“Sunday is our future. This game means a lot for all of us because that will be the history. I’m taking the time now to say to our guys, players and coaches that they are part of the history.
“No one can take that away from them, that in 10, 15 or 30 years from now, they can proudly say they played the first game of the franchise and the future that we built all together.
“We know that any sports franchise needs five to seven years to build. We did it in three months. Our management, our staff, all these players who have lots of patience with us because there are so many things that they were not ready for at the time that they came.
“We have guys who have played in leagues in Europe, the NBA and the very top of the sport. To attract these players is a big achievement for the city and our club.
“We look forward to welcoming the local communities including expats and locals as their support can inspire the team. Together, as a team, we have a chance to do something big together.”
The campaign is made up of 30 regular season games, with the top eight advancing to the play-offs. Red Star swept to victory last time out when they defeated rivals Partizan Belgrade 3-0 in the finals. The two Serbian franchises are the dominant forces in the league, both winning the title a record seven times.
Former NBA player Davis Bertans headlines Dubai's BC’s roster for their inaugural season. The roster also includes players from the Philippines, United States, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Jordan, Turkey and Latvia, many of whom have had extensive playing careers in Europe and the US.
“We are a young team but we have great ambitions so it was not a tough decision to come and be part of something that is important, to be part of history,” Jurica Golemac, the head coach, said.
“This team, like the city of Dubai, wants to grow every day, every week, every month. So, on us, coaching staff and players, we just need to show up every day and do better.
“We need to bond with the city of Dubai and with the fans. We want them to enjoy every game and support us as we are fighting for the name of Dubai as much as we can.”
To help prepare for their debut season, Dubai BC held a training camp in Slovenia where they played four friendlies. Last week, they won both home friendly games against ABA League rivals KK FMP and Russian team BC Nizhny Novgorod and competed in a preseason tournament in Bosnia ahead of their league opener on Sunday.
Klemen Prepelic, the captain, said it was a huge honour and privilege for him to lead Dubai BC in a historic event, “but at the same time, it’s also a big job and a huge responsibility. We have a very talented group of players and are really looking forward to perform as best we can.”
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
