Bahrain set for FIBA Asia Cup draw

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) announced yesterday that it will participate in the upcoming draw for the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 on February 18. Bahrain’s senior men’s national team qualified for the event, which is the continent’s premier basketball competition.

It will be held this year in Indonesia from July 12 to 24, after it was postponed from its original slot last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bahrainis are one of 16 teams competing in the tournament.

The others are hosts Indonesia, defending champions Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, the Philippines and Syria.

The participating teams will be divided into four groups for the competition’s opening round. The procedures of the draw will be announced prior to the event, the BBA said. Aside from the FIBA Asia Cup, the nationals are also currently competing in the Asia/Oceania qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

Their next pair of Group D games are scheduled to take place later this month. The nationals already played their first two games in qualification last November, both of which were losses to Iran as part of the first window of action. They return to the hardwood for the second window, scheduled for February 24 and 27, when they go up against Syria and then Kazakhstan, respectively.