Bahrainis suffer big loss in Gulf basketball opener

TDT | Manama                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s youth national basketball team were dealt a humbling start to the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) qualifiers for this year’s FIBA Asia U16 Championship, currently being held in Jeddah.

The nationals suffered a 57- 93 loss to Qatar in their first of three fixtures in this round of the qualification competition. They trailed 13-25 at the end of the first quarter and never recovered, going down by as many as 44 points the rest of the way.

Ali Altoq had 12 points to lead the Bahrainis while Hasan Jameela chipped in with 10 as their only other player in double figures. Abdulla Yassim Mousa scored 35 to pace the Qataris while Mohamed Massamba Ndao had 32 markers.

The Bahrainis return to the hardwood today when they take on Saudi Arabia. They then play their last game of this phase tomorrow against Kuwait. Both contests are scheduled for 5pm tip-offs. The single round-robin will determine the rankings for the semi-finals.

The top seeds will play the fourth, while the second and third battle it out. The winners advance to the gold medal game, and at the same time book their berths to this year’s FIBA Asia U16 Championship, which will be held in Doha in September.