By Ahmet Abdulaziz….
The opening ceremony of the “Cup of Nations Basketball 2018” tournament was held on 3rd December 2018, at the Lala Mustafa Sports Centre.
The time-honored Cup of Nations Basketball 2018, the international basketball tournament of Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) commenced with an opening ceremony organized on Monday, the 3rd of December, 2018 at 17:00 at Lala Mustafa Paşa Sports Complex.
The 11 men’s groups and 6 women’s groups are participating in the 8th Cup of Nations Tournament organized this year. The champions of the tournament for each category (men’s and women’s) will be determined by the Final Matches set to take place on the 14th of December, 2018. Men’s Group A consists of 6 teams (Jordan, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Cameroon) and Men’s Group B consists of 5 teams (Iran, Nigeria, Palestine, Lebanon and Congo). Women’s matches will take place in one group containing 6 teams (Pakistan, Botswana, Turkey, Palestine, Iran and Russia).
The first four teams on the list at the end of the matches in the Women’s category will move on to Semi-finals; on the other hand, for the Men’s category, the first two teams in each Group will play in the Finals. Matches for the third and fourth places as well as the championship matches will take place on the final day of the events.
Following a moment of silence and the Turkish National Anthem, teams consisting of EMU students from different countries were introduced to the audience. EMU Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam delivered the opening speech of the event. Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam referred to the event as a bridge between different cultures which reinforces the friendship between and among the countries. During his speech, Prof. Dr. Osam wished all the students an academic year full of success as well as good luck to all participants in the event. EMU Vice Rector for Student Affairs Prof. Dr. Sonuç Zorlu Oğurlu, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Prof. Dr. Halit Tanju Besler, Rector’s Coordinator Assist. Prof. Dr. Arif Akkeleş, Student Affairs Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Derviş Subaşı and Sports Affairs Director Cemal Konnolu were present during the opening ceremony.
