Bahrain set for Chinese-Taipei test

TDT | Manama                                                  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain take on Chinese-Taipei today as they begin the tall order of competing against the continent’s best national basketball teams in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022, being held in Indonesia. The Group B clash is scheduled for a 7am tip-off, Bahrain time.

It will be played at Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta. The other divisional fixture between Asian powerhouses China and South Korea will also be played today at 3pm, Bahrain time. The Bahrainis are in Indonesia with a 12-player squad coached by Lithuanian tactician Mindaugas Lukosius.

The roster includes Ahmed Hassan Alderazi, Maitham Jameel, Ahmed Bin Danea, Ali Hussain, Mustafa Hussain, Ali Shukrallah, Mohammed Ameer, Ali Jaber, Nader Shaker, naturalized big man Wayne Chism, Hussain Shaker and Ahmed Najaf. There are 16 countries in all participating in this year’s FIBA Asia Cup, which was postponed from its original slot last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other groups in the preliminary round feature Saudi Arabia, Jordan, defending champions Australia and hosts Indonesia in Group A; Iran, Japan, Kazakhstsan and Syria in Group C; and India, Lebanon, the Philippines and New Zealand in Group D. After a single round-robin, the top team from each of the four groups advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the second and third-ranked squads move on to the play-off round, where they will play a single game for a berth in the last eight.

Bahrain are the only participating team outside of the top 100 in the FIBA World Ranking and top 20 in the Asia Ranking, according to the sport’s global governing body.