Team North America won the UAE Communities Basketball Championship after beating Team Senegal in the final in Dubai on Tuesday.
The tournament, organised by the UAE Committee for Talent and Sports Support under the patronage of the Ministry of Sports, ran for more than a month and brought together 12 community teams from across the country.
Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports, attended the closing day, along with representatives from the Ministry of Sports, Dubai Sports Council, the UAE Basketball Association and Champs Sports Club.
The event featured teams representing the UAE, Egypt, the Philippines, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkiye, Spain, Senegal, China, Uzbekistan and North America.
The final day also included All-Stars exhibition matches, with leading players from the championship split into four teams representing the participating continents.
Syria and Lebanon contested the third-place play-off before Senegal and North America met for the title.
Sheikh Suhail bin Butti Al Maktoum, Assistant Undersecretary for the Sports Development and Competitiveness Sector at the Ministry of Sports and Chairman of UAETSS, said the championship was designed to go beyond results.
He said the event helped create “an engaging environment for families and youth” while giving players from different communities a chance to compete.
The tournament had a total prize pool of AED130,000, including AED50,000 set aside for audience members.
The winning team received the championship cup and gold medals, while the runners-up and individual award winners were also honoured at the closing ceremony.
