Riyadh (Asia) - It probably wasn’t the exact start Khalid Abdel Gabar had envisioned for his career with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia national team. He had missed a three-pointer, committed a turnover, and had his layup attempt blocked, all in just seven minutes into first quarter of his first game against the Palestine national team. But he would finally find his groove.

With less than a minute left in the first half, Abdel Gabar got the ball on an inbound pass, got away from the defense of Tamer Habash and twirled the ball in for a layup that barely escaped the outstretched arms of Salim Sakakini. A play later, the 1.88M (6’2”) guard found the ball in his hands once again. The clock winded down to less than 10 seconds and Abdel Gabar blasted by Habash to lay in the ball for another two points with Salim all over him. Saudi Arabia had trailed Palestine for the entire first half, but their newly recruited member had now sparked them back into the game. Abdel Gabar blasted for 18 points in the second half to lead Saudi Arabia to an important victory.

It was the first win of a 4-game undefeated streak at the FIBA Asia Cup Western Region Pre-Qualifiers which saw the 28-year-old Abdel Gabar average 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists pre game. Not bad for a debut effort.

"It felt great," Abdel Gabar says of his first time playing for Saudi Arabia. "I received an official invitation during the summer to participate with the national team. It was the first time meeting my teammates and the coaching staff so I was excited to join the group and compete. I was also excited to finally participate at the national level and represent a whole country."

Abdel Gabar has collected some mileage over the years as a result of playing basketball. Though he is now playing professionally in Saudi Arabia, it was over the pond in Canada where his love for the game was planted and blossomed.

"Soccer was my first sport growing up, living in the middle east and Africa. When I moved to Canada at a very young age, I noticed not much people played soccer but rather basketball, hockey, and American football," he says. "Most of my friends played basketball so I slowly converted and eventually fell in love with the game. Since then, I’ve seen improvement in my game and my love for basketball has continued to grow."

The wispy guard played collegiately with the University of Windsor Lancers before embarking on a professional journey in Morocco which included an All-Star game appearance. Now his focus is on playing with the Saudi Arabia national team which went off a great start especially with the aforementioned victory over Palestine.

"Going into the game we knew it was going to be tough so beating them gave us the confidence that we need moving forward. They are a great team and it was a big win for us. It kind of just puts things into perspective on how good we can potentially be," Abdel Gabbar says.

Adding Abdel Gabbar has certainly helped Saudi Arabia become a stronger team, but it has hardly been a one-man show. Teammates like Marzouq Almuwallad and Mohammed Alsuwailem have been just as important to the team’s success as Abdel Gabber himself.

"If you look at our roster, we basically have players in all positions that can compete at a high level," Abdel Gabbar says. "Our major strength is being able to speed up the game and play at a fast pace. We are really great when we speed up the tempo and play off of transition."

Now, this well-balanced and well-oiled machine teams is heading off to play in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers which tips-off later this year. With the opportunity to play against some of the best countries in Asia region on the way, Abdel Gabbar is hungry for the next stage to commence action as soon as possible.

"As a competitor you’re always looking forward to advancing and playing other national teams. It brings a level of excitement as well as the readiness to compete at a high level," says Abdel Gabbar, who emphasizes on preparation and defense as key for the team’s success.

"I just want to play at the highest level and compete amongst the best national teams. I look forward to playing against all our future opponents."

FIBA