10 Aug 2014
?In order to be in best shape for the upcoming FIBA U17 World Championship for men, taking place between August 8 and 16 in Dubai, the Under17 basketball national team of the United States travelled to Doha on August 2 to hold their preparation camp at Aspire Zone.
After a 4-day-long tryout in Colorado Springs, USA with the nation’s top high school players, the squad was narrowed down to the final 12 players that were going to play at the World Championships and participating in the trip Doha. The US team stayed at Torch Hotel and practiced each day in the morning and each night at Aspire Dome. In course of their preparation in Doha, they scrimmaged the Qatar U18 team, which they defeated 71-54 on Monday night and they also beat a team of local professionals 90-62 on Tuesday.
The US-American visitors were truly impressed by the facilities Aspire Zone including Aspire Dome and Aspire Academy had to offer. “The facilities here at Aspire are tremendous and our hotel, The Torch, is unbelievable and I was also impressed by the level of playing from the Qatar U18 team. Our players really enjoyed the whole experience,” commented US-Head Coach Don Showalter on their time Doha.
The two-time defending champions of the FIBA U17 World Championship left for Dubai on Wednesday and the preparation at Aspire already paid off: They started in the tournament very successfully with an 83-73-victory vs. Greece on Friday, August 8th, followed by a 99-56-triumph over Angola on Saturday. The last opponent Showalter’s team is facing in the group stage are the Philippines on Monday.