WEST BANK: BASKETBALL - American basketball player James Williams joins Palestinian team Ebda'a

Record ID: 560660

  • Title: WEST BANK: BASKETBALL - American basketball player James Williams joins Palestinian team Ebda'a
  • Date: 6th April 2009
  • Summary: DHEISHEH REFUGEE CAMP, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF JAMES WILLIAMS, AN AMERICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER, WARMING UP WITH TEAMMATES FROM THE WEST BANK EBDA'A TEAM (5 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMERICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER, JAMES WILLIAMS, SAYING: "First I heard very good things about it, I heard it is one of the top teams of Palestine, and also I just wanted to come here to learn about the culture and meet new people, stuff like that so. Mainly my main focus was to you know come here to help, watch the team as much as I can, even though they are the best team in Palestine." VARIOUS OF BASKETBALL PLAYERS TRAINING TOGETHER (3 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TRAINER OF TEAM, ASSEM BARAKAT, SAYING: "He is a complete player, we can put him in all the places. He shoots well and passes well, and I think he can be one of the best foreign players in the West Bank." VARIOUS OF TRAINING (3 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EBDA'A PLAYER, NADER YOUSEF, SAYING: "Jimmy is new here, but we are all co-operating with him, because he feels like he is living with a Palestinian family and wanted to play with us." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EBDA'A PLAYER, YEHIA KHATIB, SAYING: "Yes, I'm sure he will help us a lot because he is very skilled and don't forget that he plays basketball full time." BEIT JALA, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) EBDA'A TEAM PLAYING AGAINST BEIT JALA TEAM REEFER THROWING BALL TO ANNOUNCE START OF GAME VARIOUS OF GAME BETWEEN EBDA'A TEAM (IN WHITE) BEIT JALA TEAM (IN YELLOW), WILLIAMS' DEBUT GAME CROWD DIGITAL SCREEN SHOWING SCORES CROWD MORE OF GAME BETWEEN EBDA'A AND BEIT JALA
  • Embargoed: 21st April 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVABPO8FFZQQXWDMBUAZKZGGQDEK
  • Story Text: American basketball player James Williams makes his debut for Palestinian team Ebda'a as he seeks to pass on his expertise to sides from the West Bank's refugee camps.
    American player James Williams, has joined Palestinian basketball team Ebda'a in the West Bank's Dheisheh refugee camp.
    The 21-year-old joined the reigning Palestinian champions in March and says he is looking forward to discovering more about the culture, even opting to live in the refugee camp.
    "First I heard very good things about it, I heard it is one of the top teams of Palestine, and also I just wanted to come here to learn about the culture and meet new people, stuff like that so. Mainly my main focus was to you know come here to help, watch the team as much as I can, even though they are the best team in Palestine," said Williams.
    Originally from the city of Chicago, Williams used to play for a Mexican team but recently decided to try out the Palestinian league.
    His coach is delighted to have the bright player on his team roster and believes it will help the team defend their crown.
    "He is a complete player, we can put him in all the places. He shoots well and passes well, and I think he can be one of the best foreign players in the West Bank," said Assem Barakat, the team's coach.
    Teammate, Nader Yousef, says the team is trying its hardest to make him feel at home.
    "Jimmy is new here, but we are all co-operating with him, because he feels like he is living with a Palestinian family and wanted to play with us," he said.
    Yehia Khatib, another player, says the team has already benefited from the player's expertise.
    "Yes, I'm sure he will help us a lot because he is very skilled and don't forget that he plays basketball full time," he said.
    Williams made his debut against Beit Jala last month. Ebda'a won their last game last Thursday (March 26) and hope to collect more points against Huwara on Sunday (April 5).
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