Sani Sakakini

Sani Sakakini (Arabic: سني سكاكيني‎; born August 19, 1988 in Ramallah, Palestine) is the first professional Palestinian basketball player.^[1][2] Ranks second all-time highest in FIBA Asia Championship in scoring average, after the 2015 edition where he ranked first in scoring and rebounds (22.4 PPG and 12.6 RPG in 8 games).^[3]

Professional career

Sakakini started playing basketball at the age of 14 in the Sarriyet Ramallah club.^[2] His international career started in 2007 after he went to Applied Science University in Jordan and joined the Jordanian Premier League ( Jordan) playing three seasons for Al Riyadi Amman.^[4] He came back to the league in 2015 to play one season with Orthodox and help the team win the title.^[5]

In 2011, Sakakini started in the minor NBL league with Guangzhou Free Man before playing in the main CBA league ( China) for four seasons with Qingdao Eagles, Jiangsu Monkey King and Tianjin Gold Lions. He started 115 games for 126 appearances, averaging 19.3 PPG and 12.5 RPG.^[6][7]

Sakakini played a few games in 2013 in the PBBA league ( Palestine) for Sarriyet Ramallah and helped the team win the championship.

He also played a few games in 2014 and 2016 in the LBL league ( Lebanon) for Hoops Club and Champville SC. He started 17 games out of 17 appearances, averaging 18.4 PPG and 10.6 RPG.^[8]

For the 2017-2018 season, Sakakini joined the LPB league ( Venezuela) playing for the Trotamundos de Carabobo.^[9]

Palestinian National Team

Sakakini contributed in rebuilding the Palestine national basketball team with coach Jerry Steele and recruiting players such as former University of Minnesota guard Jamal Abu-Shamala. This led to the team's first ever qualification to the FIBA Asia Championship in 2015.^[1]

Career statistics

Statistics from FIBA,^[7] CBA,^[6] REAL GM,^[8] EUROBASKET^[10]

Regular season

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011	Guangzhou Free Man	NBL	20		54.2	25.0	67.5	9.8		1.1		14.5
2011-2012	Qingdao DoubleStar	CBA	31	27.3	51.6	16.7	67.4	8.2	1.3	1.0	0.3	10.5
2013	Al Riyadi Amman	JPL	18					11.8	2.6	1.2		23.9
2013	Sarriyet Ramallah	PBBA	8					15.7	3.0	3.6	2.3	32.7
2013-2014	Qingdao DoubleStar	CBA	29	39.4	51.7	20.8	75.6	13.8	2.2	1.5	0.4	18.9
2014	Hoops Club	LBL	9	39.2	42.3	22.2	74.1	11.9	2.7	2.0	0.6	20.4
2015-2016	Jiangsu Tongxi	CBA	30	42.6	46.2	20.5	76.3	14.7	2.4	1.7	0.4	23.2
2016	Champville SC	LBL	8	31.4	47.2	00.0	78.4	9.1	1.9	1.5	0.1	16.1
2016-2017	Tianjin Ronggang	CBA	35	41.2	54.5	33.7	79.6	13.3	2.0	1.0	0.3	24.0
2017-2018	Guangzhou Long-Lions	CBA	37	40.1	52.4	32.3	85.4	11.7	2.2	1.3	0.3	21.2

International tournaments

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015	Palestine	FIBA Asia Championship	8	35.9	.407	.205	.682	12.6	2.4	1.5	0.3	22.4

Off the court

Sani Sakakini is married to Rubi Habash, point guard of Jordan's Women National Basketball Team.

He is the son of George Sakakini, former basketball player and coach, and elder brother of Salim Sakakini which also plays in the Palestine national basketball team.

References