Bahrainis get qualifying berth in FIBA Asia U16 basketball

TDT | Manama                                   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s youth national basketball team have received a qualifying ticket to participate in the FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Doha next month.

The Bahrain Basketball Association announced yesterday that it has received a letter from FIBA Asia stating that it had qualified for the tournament.

This is despite finishing third in the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) qualifiers for the event. Only the top two teams from that competition were originally set to claim a place in the tournament proper, but since Qatar were the winners and already had a place as hosts, Bahrain have been given the seat.

The GBA now has three teams in the FIBA Asia U16 Championship, including the Qataris, Bahrainis and Saudi Arabia. This year’s event will mark the fifth time Bahrain will be competing in the continent’s under-16 tournament.

They first played in 2009 and then again in 2013, 2015 and 2022. The Bahrainis’ best finish was eighth overall in the 2013 competition held in Tehran. Bahrain’s squad, coached by Soufiane Mrabet, includes skipper Mahdi Ali, Ali Altoq, Daniel Moosa, Hasan Jameela, Husain Alsamaheeji, Mujtaba Rayan, Ali Barhoom, Ali Rabeai, Hasan Alsamaheeji, Faisal Alanzoor, Salman Nesaif and Husain Hatem.