Dubai: TwentyFour Basketball Academy, a Dubai-based youth basketball development programme founded in 2024, has been selected as the only UAE programme to compete in the 2027 Grind Session Open Championship in the United States.

Grind Session is North America’s first winter circuit of elite high-school basketball events, staging more than 400 games each season across the United States, Canada, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. It has become an established route for players progressing to college basketball, with 89 seniors committing to college programmes in 2025. The circuit has also produced top-level talent, with three of the first six picks in the 2026 NBA Draft having competed on it as high-school prospects.

TwentyFour will take a team from Dubai to compete across two weekends beginning at the end of March 2027, placing its players on the same platform as some of the most established high-school basketball programmes in the United States.

The selection follows a standout season for TwentyFour, which saw the academy win championships at home and abroad. It first claimed a major domestic title after defeating one of the UAE’s leading youth teams in the local league final, before going on to win international championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in January and Montenegro in June. The academy then returned to the UAE to secure a second domestic title in the country’s top youth league. 

TwentyFour’s success has also been reflected in the progression of individual players. Two of its leading performers have earned scholarships at high schools in Florida and Phoenix to continue their basketball and academic careers in the United States, while four players have gone on to represent national teams – two for Lebanon, one for Jordan and one for Syria.

Commenting on the announcement, Issam Termanini, Founder, Director and Head Coach of TwentyFour Basketball Academy, said: “When we started building this programme, the goal was never simply to win basketball games or collect championships. We wanted to create a real pathway for players in Dubai who are serious about basketball and serious about finding out how far they can take their game. Over the past year, our players have continued to raise the standard. We have won in the UAE, travelled internationally and won, developed national-team players and helped players from the academy earn opportunities in the United States. Being the only programme from the UAE selected for the 2027 Grind Session is an important validation of that work and, more importantly, another door that is now open for our players. We are very much looking forward to earning our place on that stage.”

Brian Clifton, Executive Director of International Development & Strategic Partnerships for Grind Session, said: “Basketball has become truly global, and high-level talent is now developing in markets all over the world. That is exactly why we are excited to welcome TwentyFour Basketball Academy from Dubai to Grind Session. What they have built as a program, and the success they have already experienced both domestically and internationally, makes this a natural next step. Bringing a team from the UAE into the Grind Session environment is significant, not only for TwentyFour Basketball Academy, but for the continued growth of our platform internationally. We are looking forward to seeing their players compete against high-level competition in the United States, challenge themselves in a different basketball environment, and experience everything the Grind Session platform provides.”