Ittihad Club retained the 8th Ramadan Panasonic Basketball Championship, dubbed as “Street Basketball”, after a tough tussle with the Black Ghost team by a hairline margin of one point, and regained the title after losing it last year. Excitement was the main feature of this year's event, which was organized by Publicis Graphics Agency for the eighth consecutive year. The tournament took place at Jeddah corniche next to Jeddah Equestrian Club with the support of Jeddah Governorate and was held under the supervision of the Youth Welfare office in Jeddah, with the participation of 100 teams from various parts of the Western Region. Faisal Al-Esawy, head of the organizing committee of the tournament, said the huge number of teams indicates the popularity of basketball in Saudi Arabia. “Through this tournament we aim to stimulate this game as well as to find a suitable place for the Saudi youths and fans of basketball to practice their favorite sport and create a competitive atmosphere in the holy month of Ramadan,” added Al-Esawy. Hidefumi Kawakita, General Manager of Panasonic Saudi Arabia noted that this tournament comes as a part of Panasonic's community service. During the course of the tournament various valuable gifts and cash prizes were distributed daily to the spectators and the participating teams, through various contests. The final was graced by Hidofomi Kawakita, General Manager of Panasonic Saudi Arabia, and Yousef Farwan, Deputy Director of Youth Welfare office in Jeddah. Champion Al-Itihad Club was presented with a cash prize of SR10,000, while runner-up Black Ghost got a cash prize of SR5,000.
