Bahrain youth basketball team in Istanbul for camp

TDT | Manama            

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s youth national basketball team have travelled to Istanbul to conduct an overseas training camp in preparation for the FIBA Asia U16 Championship 2023 in Doha, tipping off later this month.

Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) national teams committee member Fatima Janahi has made national sporting history as the head of the delegation in Turkey. It is the first time that any BBA women’s official has headed an official overseas training camp for a Bahrain men’s, junior or youth basketball team.

The delegation also includes deputy head Mohammed Haji, head coach Soufiane Mrabet, his assistants Hani Alam and Hassan Makki, and other support staff. Twelve players are in the camp, namely Hussain Al Samaheeji, Hassan Al Samaheeji, Daniel Mohammed, Hassan Hussain, Ali Yasser, Hussain Aref, Faisal Al Anzoor, Mujtaba Mahmoud, Mahdi Essam, Salman Abdulla, Mahdi Habib and Ali Mohsen.

The Bahrainis will return to the Kingdom on 15 September, and then on the following day will depart for Qatar to compete in the Asian championship. Bahrain are in Group C for the competition’s preliminary round along with New Zealand, South Korea and Jordan.

Group A features Australia, India, Lebanon and Sri Lanka; Group B comprises Iran, Japan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; and Group D consists of the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

The nationals take on Jordan in their first game on opening day 17 September, before playing South Korea the next day. They then face off on 19 September with New Zealand. At the end of the preliminary stage, the top team from each group moves directly to the quarter-finals, while the second and third-ranked squads go to round two.

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.