Italian Giovanni Solinas, Al-Faisaly's coach, gave his team's players a week's leave, after the loss to Al-Ittihad in the seventh round of the Saudi Professional League.
There will be no external camp during the period when the league competitions are suspended, as the technical staff will be content with continuing regular training at the club’s stadium in Harmah, while Al-Anabi will play friendly matches.
Al-Faisaly did not taste victory over seven rounds, as it lost five matches and tied in two matches, and was eliminated from the King’s Cup competition.
Giovanni hoped that the international break would be an opportunity to put the team in order again.
The Saudi basketball team lost its match against its Japanese counterpart, “ranked second on the Asian continent,” with a score of 80-86, in the group stage competitions of the 20th Asian Games “Aichi-Nagoya 2026.”
The Basketball Greens have one match left in the group stage, when they face the Indonesian national team on September 13, at the end of their matches in this stage.
The preparations of the Saudi teams continue in Japan, in preparation for participating in the tournament, which will witness the participation of about 15,000 athletes representing 45 countries, as the teams in the city of Fuji continue their training programs before the start of their participation in the tournament’s competitions.
The Saudi swimming team joined the camp on Friday, with the participation of Sultan Al-Otaibi, Ali Al-Issa, Imad Zein, Mohammed Al-Otaibi, Mohammed Al-Zaki, Zaid Al-Sarraj, and Rami Al-Rahmouni, as part of its final preparations before competing.
Italian Giovanni Solinas, Al-Faisaly's coach, confirmed that Al-Ittihad deserved to win over his team, pointing out the big difference in ambitions between the two sides, while he expressed his satisfaction with the spirit shown by his players during the confrontation.
Solinas said in the press conference after the match: “I congratulate Al-Ittihad. They achieved a well-deserved victory, and they are a team that has players capable of making a difference. Of course, I am sad about the loss, but at the same time I thank our players for the spirit and fight they showed in the match.”
He added: “We have to admit that Al-Faisaly’s ambition this season is to remain in the league, while Al-Ittihad has a different ambition, which is to compete for the top positions.”
In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about Theo Bongonda not participating in the starting lineup, despite his clear influence after entering the second half and scoring Al-Faisaly’s goal, Solinas explained: “Theo suffered an injury in the fifth round, and therefore he was excluded from facing Al-Ettifaq. Today, I am happy with his return, participation, and scoring the first goal for Al-Faisaly.”
The Italian coach pointed out the importance of the upcoming pause period for his team, and said: “The pause period will be an opportunity for us to work on improving the team’s situation and come back better after its end, and we hope that we will reach the best possible readiness.”
