CAIRO, Dec 26 (KUNA) -- The 25th Arab Basketball Championship kick-started Tuesday at Cairo International Stadium's Indoor Halls Complex, with the participation of nine Arab countries, including Kuwait.
In an inaugural speech, Egypt's Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy welcomed the teams and appreciated them for their participation in the competition, which will continue until January 3.
In a statement to KUNA, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuwait Basketball Federation Dhari Barjas confirmed that the competition includes some of the best Arab teams.
He said that Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia are of the best teams in the world, according to the International Basketball Federation's rankings.
"We were keen on taking part in this tournament, which features many Arab teams," he said.
He said the event ensures high-level competitions, which contributes to developing Arab basketball in general.
He referred that Kuwait-Tunisia match was strong and balanced, but Tunisian players managed to win the game 85-69 due to their experience.
The event includes Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, UAE, Somalia and Mauritania. The tournament has two groups: Group A includes Algeria, Libya, Somalia, and Mauritania. Group B contains Kuwait, the UAE, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. Egypt won the competition 12 times the latest of which was in 2016. (end) asm.aff.hm