Bahrain to clash with Qatar in Asian U16 basketbal

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s youth national basketball team tip off their campaign today in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Doha. The nationals are in Group A of the competition’s preliminary round and they face off with the host Qataris in their first contest. It is scheduled for a 6 pm start. The other nations in their division are Australia and India. They face off with the Indians tomorrow and then play the Aussies on Tuesday.

There are 13 teams in all in the competition’s first stage. They have been divided into four groups. Group B comprises Iran, Lebanon and Indonesia; Group C features the Philippines, Japan and Kuwait; while Group D includes South Korea, New Zealand and Kazakhstan.

After a single round-robin, the top teams from each of the four groups advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the second and third-ranked squads will compete in the play-offs for another chance to make it into the last eight.

Murtadha Mohammed coaches the Bahrainis. The delegation has travelled with 12 players, namely Mohammed Jalal and Hassan Nayem from Manama; Hassan Gharib, Ali Abdulla and Hamad Faisal from Al Ahli; Abdulla Nader and Ali Hussain from Sitra; Abdulla Zuwayed from Al Ettihad; Abdulla Hani from Samaheej; Mohammed Khalil from Al Hala; Mohammed Sami from Isa Town; and Mishal Buhamood from Muharraq.

Prior to their departure, the Nationals were visited in training by Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) vice-president His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) chief Captain Waleed Al Alawi and other BOC and BBA officials. Aside from being a continental championship, the tournament also acts as a qualifying event for FIBA Asia for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup, which will be held next month in Spain. Four teams from Asia will punch their tickets to the world.

This will be the fourth time in the history of the under-16 competition that Bahrain is participating. They previously played in the 2009, 2013 and 2015 editions, when they finished 12th, eighth and 12th, overall, respectively.