What to Expect at the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship This Year
As I gear up to cover the 34th edition of the Dubai International Basketball Championship, the air is thick with a familiar, electric anticipation. This isn't just another tournament on the calendar; it’s a mid-season spectacle that has consistently blurred the lines between continental club supremacy and pure, unadulterated entertainment. Having followed its evolution for years, I can tell you this year feels different. The field is rumored to be the most competitive yet, with whispers of powerhouse clubs from across Asia and Africa confirming their participation, alongside the usual suspects from the GCC whose rivalries alone are worth the price of admission. We’re likely looking at a draw of 10 to 12 elite teams, each bringing a distinct style of play to the hardwood of the Al Nasr Club, which has become a cathedral of sorts for basketball purists in the region during this event.
What truly sets the Dubai Championship apart, in my view, is its uncanny ability to create moments of raw, human emotion amidst the high-stakes competition. It’s a tournament where legends are solidified, and new stars are born overnight. This reminds me of a poignant moment from a past champion, whose words perfectly capture the tournament’s spirit. After a grueling finals victory, he said, "At the same time, nanalo pa ako ng award (Finals MVP) which is bonus lang di ba. Hindi ko maisip, hindi ko mapinta kung anong words ang dapat kong sabihin ngayon." That mix of triumph, humility, and speechless joy—that’s the essence of what happens here. The primary goal is always the championship trophy, a prestigious title that can define a club’s season. But individual accolades, like that Finals MVP, emerge as beautiful, unexpected bonuses, moments of personal validation that even the players themselves struggle to articulate. It’s this duality—team glory intersecting with personal breakthrough—that I’m most excited to witness again.
From a tactical standpoint, I’m particularly keen to see how the integration of foreign professionals, often with NBA or top European league experience, meshes with local talent. Last year, we saw an average of 2.7 imported players per team, a number I expect to hold steady or even increase. This creates fascinating stylistic clashes. You might see a methodical, physically imposing team from Lebanon grind against a fast-paced, sharpshooting squad from the Philippines. The meta-game of roster construction and short-term chemistry is a spectacle in itself. I have a personal preference for teams that prioritize ball movement and defensive intensity over relying solely on one superstar isolation player, but honestly, the beauty of this tournament is that any style can win if executed with enough heart and precision. The condensed format, with back-to-back games, tests not just skill but incredible depth and resilience.
Logistically, the organizing committee has reportedly increased the total prize pool to an estimated $500,000, with the winner taking home a significant portion, which has undoubtedly raised the stakes. Fan engagement is also reaching new levels; last edition saw a cumulative attendance of nearly 45,000 spectators across the event, and with strategic digital campaigns, the global live stream viewership is projected to break 5 million. For aspiring players and coaches attending, my advice is to watch everything. The practices, the timeouts, the player interactions—the learning opportunities are immense. I’ve lost count of the young athletes I’ve seen in the stands, notebooks in hand, studying the footwork of a veteran center or the off-ball movement of a prolific scorer.
As we look ahead to the tip-off, the narrative threads are plentiful. Can the defending champions, who invested heavily in their offseason, manage the target on their backs? Which relatively unknown player will have his "bonus" MVP moment under the bright lights? The answers will unfold over what promises to be ten days of breathtaking basketball. For fans, it’s a festival. For professionals, it’s a high-level audit of talent and strategy. And for someone like me, who’s seen the tournament grow, it’s a cherished annual tradition that never fails to deliver drama, excellence, and those beautifully inarticulate moments of pure sporting joy. Mark your calendars; basketball in Dubai is about to take center stage once more.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
