Khalifa bin Salman Cup match-ups set

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Three-time defending champions Al Ahli are set for an exciting clash against Al Ettihad in the quarter-finals of the 2022/2023 Khalifa bin Salman Cup.

The draw for the prestigious basketball tournament was held last night at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.

Bahrain Olympic Committee vice-president His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa was on hand, along with Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) president Captain Waleed Al Alawi, other sporting officials, and representatives from the competing clubs.

Ahli are looking to secure their record fourth title in this competition but will have a tough road ahead of them.

Also already in the quarters are Muharraq, who will be awaiting their opponents from the first-round clash between Al Najma and Al Hala.

Another quarter-final matchup will see Nuwaidrat take on Sitra. Meanwhile, two other firstround fixture will determine the last contest in the round of eight.

Defending league champions Manama will be playing Isa Town, while Bahrain Club and Samaheej are set to face off.

Based on the tournament bracket, Ahli and Manama are set for a potential mouth-watering showdown in the semi-finals, should they both go through.

The first round’s games will be held from Tuesday until Saturday next week, after which the quarter-finals will take place on April 2 and 3.

All games will be knockout affairs in these two stages.

The semi-finals will then be held from April 25 to May 2, with each series set to take place in best-of-three format.

The final will be a single-game contest.

The complete tournament schedule is set to be released by the BBA soon.

This year’s competition is the seventh edition of the Khalifa bin Salman Cup, which is held in honour of the late His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The tournament was launched in 2016/2017 season, and Muharraq were the first winners.

Manama then claimed the trophy in 2018, and then Riffa took the crown the following year.

Ahli have then won the title every year since.

They will be looking to add to their triumphs in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with an historic “four-peat” this season. Ahli claimed last year’s final after defeating Manama 84-76.