Bahrainis suffer tough loss to Saudis

TDT | Manama                           

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s youth national basketball team suffered their second successive disheartening loss yesterday in the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) qualifiers for this year’s FIBA Asia U16 Championship, currently being held in Jeddah.

The Bahrainis went down fighting to tournament hosts Saudi Arabia 61-71 in their penultimate fixture of this round of the competition.

They led for much of the game, going ahead by as many as 18 points, and took a commanding 54-44 advantage into the final quarter.

But there, they crumbled and were outscored by the Saudis by 20, 7-27, losing their momentum and the game. They had previously bowed to Qatar in their opening assignment.

Hasan Alsamaheeji had 16 points to pace the Bahrainis, while Ali Altoq added 14 and Daniel Moosa had 12. Amjad Abdulwahab Mateek was the top scorer for the Saudis with 23 points.

Mohammed Khafaji chipped in with 12 in their win. The Bahrainis return to the hardwood today when they take on Kuwait at 5pm. This evening's fixtures will determine the rankings for the semi-finals, where the top seeds will play the fourth, and the second seeds will take on the third.

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.