Bahrain national basketball team begin FIBA Asia Cup preparations

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A 26-player roster has been named for the first phase of training for the senior men’s national basketball team ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021.

This was announced yesterday by the Bahrain Basketball Association.

The continental competition is scheduled to take place in August this year in Indonesia.

The Bahrainis, coached by 1987 NBA champion Sam Vincent, have already qualified for the competition, and the nationals have begun their preparations for the event locally.

The training list includes players from back-to-back league-and-cup champions Al Ahli, Manama, Muharraq, Al Hala, Al Najma, Nuwaidrat and Riffa.

Star Ahli players Maytham Jameel, Ahmed Hassan Al Derazi, Hesham Sarhan, Mohammed Qurban and Subah Hussain lead the team. Joining them from Manama are Mustafa Hussain, Ahmed Salman Ramadhan, Mohammed Hussain, Hasan Nowrooz, Muzamil Ameer, Ahmad Najaf, Mohammed Ameer and Yousef Al Murbati; from Muharraq are Mohammed Buallay, Bader Abdulla Jassim, Mohammed Kuwayed, Mohammed Juma’a and Ali Rabea; and from Al Hala is Hussain Jan, Hussain Salman, Abdulrahman Ghali and Al Watheq Ali. The rest of the squad features CJ Giles and Ali Jaber from Najma, Hassan Abbas from Nuwaidrat and Nasser Almosawi from Riffa.

This year’s FIBA Asia Cup will mark the 30th edition of the continent’s leading basketball championship.

It will feature 16 national teams. Bahrain has appeared in the Cup, originally known as the Asian Basketball Championship, eight times in the past, including in 1977, 1979, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2011 and 2013.

The Bahrainis’ best finish was 10th in the 1999 competition hosted by Saudi Arabia.