Jasikevicius and a Baxi Manresa player caught in the bombings in Dubai

BarcelonaDavid Jover and Marta Campderrós, two former sports reporters for the newspaper ARA, are among the ten Catalans working within Dubai Basketball's structure. The club, which began competing in the EuroLeague this season, is experiencing difficult times, as the city in the United Arab Emirates has been bombed and its airspace closed for days.

The EuroLeague suspended Dubai Basketball's game scheduled for Thursday in Belgrade against Partizan. The match between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv was also postponed. "Unfortunately, I had a very unpleasant experience. My apartment is located in the center of Tel Aviv, near the Greek embassy and several government buildings. A very powerful explosion occurred about 700 meters from my residence, and sadly, a woman lost her life. Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Sarunas Jasikevicius, former coach of Barça and current coach of Fenerbahce, and Kaodirichi Akobundu, player for Baxi Manresa, are two of the sports figures who were trapped in Dubai, where they were spending a few days on vacation.

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The junior teams of Valencia Basket and Real Madrid were unable to leave Abu Dhabi until Tuesday, where the conflict caught them by surprise while they were playing in a Euroleague tournament. "The best course of action was for them to stay in the hotel," said Juanfran Pérez Llorca, president of the Valencian regional government. The hotel had a shelter in the basement, and the recommendation was that no one approach the windows or leave the building. "They followed the safety protocols that were recommended to us," added Alberto Chilet, head of communications for Valencia Basket.

Cesc Senpau, a Catalan coach with the Dubai Basketball Elite program, was also in Abu Dhabi but was able to travel by car to Dubai. "When it all started, we were in the hotel. We heard some explosions, as if the air defenses had intercepted a missile. It's still quite shocking," the coach told the program. Clear path From RAC1. The tournament was canceled. "Our team decided to return to Dubai, where official figures indicate around twelve impacts. The feeling, however, is one of relative normality, and businesses are operating. The key moment for restoring complete normality will be when the airspace can be reopened," he explained.

Senpau tries to downplay the situation. "We're calmer than those watching the news in Catalonia," the coach summarizes. Although the United States has ordered the departure of non-essential personnel and their families, local authorities are also trying to project calm. The Dubai government press office published a photo of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, and the Minister of Defense, Hamdan bin Mohammed, inspecting the situation and walking through the Dubai Mall to convey a sense of normalcy.

A club with Catalan DNA

Dubai Basketball's CEO is a familiar face in Catalan basketball. Dejan Kamenjasevic arrived in Girona as a refugee from the Balkan War, where he trained as a coach and went on to win the FIBA ​​Cup in 2007 as Svestislav Pesic's assistant with Akasvayu Girona.

Dubai Basketball also boasts a sports, commercial, and communications structure staffed by 10 Catalans. A few weeks ago, the club visited the headquarters of the Catalan Basketball Federation in Barcelona, ​​where they expressed interest in its structure and management. The Dubai-based organization aims to export and implement this model in the UAE's future basketball strategic plan and to establish avenues for future collaboration between the two institutions.