Bahrain basketball parts ways with Sam Vincent

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain basketball has parted ways with senior men’s national team head coach Sam Vincent. The Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) announced yesterday that it has terminated Vincent’s contract, by mutual consent.

The American tactician, who was a 1987 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics as a player, had coached Bahrain since January of 2020 and was in charge of his last games last week in the second window of the first round of qualifying for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

The Bahrainis have so far lost all four games in this stage of World Cup qualification, falling twice to Iran before losing to Syria and Kazakhstan. The BBA expressed its appreciation to Vincent for the time he spent as the national team head coach and wished him success in the remainder of his career.

The BBA said that a new coach will be hired to lead the team in their remaining World Cup qualifiers as well as for Bahrain’s campaign in the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup, both of which are scheduled to take place this July. Bahrain’s third and final window in the World Cup qualifiers will see them take on Syria in Damascus on July 1, before playing Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan on July 4. Bahrain must finish amongst the top three in Group D to earn a place in the second round of qualifying.

They are currently in last place, with the Kazakhs in first, followed by Iran and Syria. The FIBA Asia Cup will then be held from July 12 to 24 in Jakarta, and the Bahrainis have been drawn with Asian powerhouses China and South Korea, along with Chinese Taipei, for the competition’s first round.