Riyadi U-13 head to Brindisi Basketball Tournament

AMMAN — Riyadi-Aramex junior team has arrived in Italy for the “Brindisi Porta del Salento” 4th International U-13 Basketball Tournament.

The tournament opens Sunday and the Jordanian team will play the first round alongside 16 other teams from Europe and Africa in their first tournament abroad for this age group.

“This is part of our club’s strategy to participate in regional events and raise the competitive bar for our teams,” Riyadi Secretary General Fadi Sabbah underlined in press release as the team left home for Italy.

Riyadi Club’s basketball teams have a packed summer agenda with the U-16 boys heading to a tournament in Dubai in August and the youngest players — the U-11 mini-basketball team — having just returned from the 24th Mini-Basket in Piazza Tournament in Matera, Italy where they played for the 16th time. Riyadi were the first Arab team to compete in Matera — the biggest annual European event for players under 11. With basketball enthusiasts gathering from around the globe, this year, Riyadi was one of record 62 clubs from over 14 countries playing in the tournament. 

Since 1998, Riyadi, now also sponsored by Zain, was the first Jordanian club to reinstate a mini-basketball programme after a 26-year hiatus. Besides playing in the official U-14 league, one of Riyadi’s many basketball programmes is the Super League, which has 300 players from ages 6-12 competing in the club’s year-round mini-basket programme.

This season, Riyadi won the Jordan Basketball League crown to win the title that had eluded them for 20 years. Riyadi beat titleholders Orthodoxi 4-0 in the best-of-seven play-offs. The last time they had won the league was nearly 20 years ago in 1997 by then Jazira-Aramex team (whose players later on formed Riyadi’s line-up).