It was a day of masterclasses in two of the first basketball matches of the Arab Women Sports Tournament 2018 (AWST) and an end-to-end thriller in the third. Jordan’s Fuheis club looked serious contenders for the final as they brushed aside an out-paced and outplayed Somali Mogadishu team with a 95-49 win, and with a score of 90-30, Sharjah Women’s Sports Club, one of the competition’s powerhouses, stormed past Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah United.In a much tighter game three, Egyptian Sporting Club got into their stride against Kuwait’s Girls Club to end up winners 87-71, in a match that see-sawed from quarter to quarter, with Kuwait winning two of the 15-minute periods. And although they constantly looked like being in contention, they failed to keep up the momentum as the Egyptians began to pull away in the fourth quarter.It was a great day for the spectators at AWST 2018, held under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Sharjah Women Sports Foundation (SWSF), and judging by the quality of the play, the first of many more to come.
Jordan’s Fuheis club will be brimming with confidence after their stunning performance which left the Somali team looking decidedly downbeat. As a reflection of their outstanding team play, every member of the Jordanian squad found scoring opportunities, while the Mogadishu club relied almost solely on Balqees Abdul Aziz who walked away with a tally of 25 points, more than half of her team’s overall score.Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah United looked equally outclassed as hosts Sharjah Women’s Sports Club produced an overwhelming display for their 60-point victory. In a merciless and unceasing wave of attacks the Sharjah club looked in a different league to their opponents who will not only be looking to regroup, but re-build after such a one-sided match. Any teams watching that performance may realistically be looking at an exercise in damage-limitation rather than making to the next round.The remarkable matches provided the perfect start to the opening day of the fourth edition of the tournament, which runs until February 12, ending with the crowning of the winners of the nine sporting disciplines at a special closing ceremony.