Duplays, the UAE’s largest sport and social club, are inviting budding basketball players to take part in their new league where Dh3,000 will be up for grabs for the winners.

First Gulf Bank (FGB) Arena Slam Dunkers basketball tournament in association with Circle Cafe Abu Dhabi, will be played every week from Tuesday, May 27 to June 17, and is open to men aged 18 years and over. 

“This isn’t the first time we’ve held basketball leagues at Duplays,” said Ray Gibson, operations director at Duplays Abu Dhabi. 

“The response from previous leagues we hosted was great. Whether they’ve played the sport or not, people enjoyed playing basketball.

“Basketball is a very popular sport around the world. It’s fun, entertaining and fits in line with our aims of promoting a healthy lifestyle.”

The competition will be a round-robin format for the first three weeks, while there will be everything to play for in the final week at the play-off stage.

Matches will consist of two 20-minute halves, with rolling substitutes and one time-out per half permitted. The competition will be held at the brand new FGB Arena at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi.

The state-of-the-art multi-functional indoor arena was opened in February this year, and recently hosted the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Cup.

Gibson said: “It’s a fantastic facility in Abu Dhabi. We are really keen to use the venue in playing our part in developing indoor sports in Abu Dhabi. One of the good things about the facility is that it is very multi-functional, which is ideal for us. We will also be holding a football league at the same venue. We want to hold a lot of competitions there in the future.”

The competition will last fourweeks and end before the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

“We wanted to finish the league before Ramadan because a lot of people leave the country to go on their vacations,” said Gibson. “Usually our competitions last six weeks but we changed it to a four-week format this time. It’s alittle bit different for us and hopefully there will be a lot of interest because of the lower cost of entry plus the cash prize on offer,” added Gibson.

Duplays have set early bird entry fees until Friday, May 23 at Dh1,800 per team, with individuals (formed into a team) being charged Dh315.

What: FGB Arena Slam Dunkers
Where: FGB Arena, Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi
When: Every Tuesday from May 27 to June 17
Contact: Register at www.duplaysabudhabi.playpass.com