Sani Sakakini (Arabic: سني سكاكيني; born August 19, 1988) is a Palestinian professional basketball player for the New Taipei Kings of the East Asia Super League (EASL).[1][2] In 2017, he ranked second all-time highest in the 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 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]
He also played a few games in 2014 and 2016 in the LBL league for Hoops Club and Champville SC. He started 17 games out of 17 appearances, averaging 18.4 PPG and 10.6 RPG.[8]
In August 2021, Sakakini has announced his retirement from international basketball.[13] The announcement came after his Palestinian team got two consecutive losses at the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, dropping them from the tournament.[14]
Career statistics
Statistics from FIBA,[7] CBA,[6] REAL GM,[8] EUROBASKET,[15] SBL.[16]