Big-Four to meet in semifinals

DOHA: Come Tuesday and all roads in the country will lead to the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall for the first game of the best-of-three semifinals of the 2015-16 Qatar League.

While 16-time champions Al Rayyan will face off against 2008 winners El Jaish, 2013 victors Al Sadd lock horns with 2014 winners Al Gharafa.

The semifinals will be played on February 16, 20 and 24. The best-of-three finals are scheduled for February 27, March 1 and 4 respectively.

Rayyan’s Greek coach Koufos Stergios, who helped the side win their maiden Arab Club Championship upon taking charge in 2014, sounded confident about retaining the league title.

“Rayyan are a team that hates to lose. We topped the league table and our players are in the right frame of mind. We promise our fans we’ll try our best to retain the league title,” he said, while addressing a pre-match Press conference.

However, his Serbian counterpart Dragoslav Milovanovic sounded a little worried.

“Before the season’s start, we took part in two major competitions and my players are tired. We’re also missing several stars. It’ll make our progress much more difficult. We’ll try our best, but things aren’t going to be easy,” said the experienced tactician.

Al Gharafa coach Kosay Hatem felt his boys were ready to take on any opposition.

“We’re not at all concerned about who we’re going to face. I’m pleased with my wards’ performances so far and we’re ready for anyone. We’ll put our best foot forward. Our sole aim is to win the league shield again,” said the Iraqi, who has been with Gharafa for close to a decade.

Meanwhile, Sadd’s Serbian coach Zoran Krekovic bemoaned his players’ lack of preparations.

“At the start of the season, most of my players were away with other teams on international duty. As a result, we hardly got any time to train together. It affected our performances. But under the circumstances, I’m happy we made it to the top-four. We’ll push ourselves hard to make a positive impact,” he said.

Qatar Basketball Federation General Secretary Mohammed Ali Al Hobash and Assistant General Secretary Mohammad Subaei attended the Press conference.

The four teams’ managers — Aljlan Anezi (Al Rayyan), Khalid Al Mohannadi (El Jaish), Saleh Mabrook (Al Gharafa) and Nabil Abo Issa (Al Sadd) — were also present.