COACH CONFIDENT OF ORTHODOX CLUB TITLE CHANCES

As the Jordan Basketball League heads into a pre-playoffs break, the coach of the table toppers, The Orthodox Club, said his side will be ready when it resumes in a month’s time.

The Orthodox Club stamped their authority on the regular season by beating reigning champions Reyadi on Tuesday night 69-64, completing the perfect record of seven wins from seven matches.

But with the playoffs on hold until after the upcoming West Asian Basketball Championships, which Jordan is hosting from January 29-February 10, coach Muntaser Abu Al Tayyeb said his players will be ready to continue their charge for the title.

Talking to the Jordan Olympic Committee website (www.joc.jo), Al Tayyeb said: “My team played very well against a good Reyadi side. We didn’t start particularly well as their experience showed and perhaps we had some nerves, but my players came through strongly after that disappointing first quarter.”

Al Tayyeb has called for the league to look at introducing a longer season and said that the introduction of foreign coaches to the teams could also help to boost quality.

“We have a lot of good players now playing in Jordan who are all keen to learn and improve so we should look at this together and how we can support the game in general to raise the standards,” he said.

About the team preparations for the play offs he added: “There will be a long break before the playoffs, but we will try to hold competitive friendlies matches with other teams to keep the players fit and sharp.”

The top four from the league will go into the championship playoffs while the bottom four will battle it out with two facing relegation.