Bahrain face Egypt in Doha event

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national basketball team have arrived in Doha to play in the Qatar International Basketball Championship, tipping off today.

The competition is part of the Bahrainis’ preparations for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, which get underway later this month.

The Bahrainis are one of six senior men’s national teams competing in the Doha event, to be held until Sunday at Lusail Sports Arena.

The others include hosts Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Central African Republic.

The nationals are in Group A for the preliminary round. They open their campaign against Egypt tonight and then face Jordan tomorrow. Group B is composed of Qatar, Saudi and Central African Republic.

At the end of a single round-robin, the top seeds from each group play in the final, while the second-seeded teams face off for third.

The third seeds battle for fifth overall, with all the final classification contests taking place on Sunday.

Twelve players have travelled to the Qatari capital for the event.

Coached by Spaniard Ricard Casas, the roster includes Mohammed Buallay, Ali Jaber, Mohammed Ameer, Maitham Jameel, Mustafa Hussain, Ali Aqeel, Ali Shukrallah, Wayne Chism, Alwatheq Ali, Abdulqader Saleh Thani, Basel Adel and Murtadha Salman. Bahrain head coach Ricard Casas has named 17 players on his initial squad that have begun their preparations for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.

The Bahrainis will be playing their first two games in qualification later this month. Competing in Group F, the nationals will first host the UAE at home on February 23, before taking on Lebanon on February 26 in Beirut.

Roster The national team roster includes Ali Hussain, Ali Jaber, Mohammed Ameer, Maithaim Jameel, Subah Hussain, Ali Aqeel, Ali Shukrallah, Mohammed Juma’a, Alwatheq Ali, Abdulqader Saleh Thani, Abbas Jameel, Murtadha Salman, Mohammed Buallay, Noman Ahmed, Basel Adel, Mustafa Hussain and Wayne Chism.

Their travelling delegation is headed by Bahrain Basketball Association national teams committee head Mohammed Al Ajmi, who is also the advisor to His Highness the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman.

Bahrain have two games this month in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.

Competing in Group F, they will first host the UAE at home on February 23, before taking on Lebanon on February 26 in Beirut. Bahrain’s qualifying pool also includes Syria, whom they only play for the first time in November later this year.

There are 24 participating national teams divided into six groups of four nations each for this stage of qualification.

These squads will vie for just 16 places at the final tournament. Games are being played over three windows, the first being held this month, the next in November, and then again in February of 2025.

The top two teams of each group qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, while the six thirdplaced teams will play another qualifying tournament for the final four places.

Group A includes Thailand, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia.

Group B features Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, the Philippines and New Zealand; while Group C comprises China, Guam, Japan and Mongolia.

In Group D are Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia; and Group E are Iran, Kazakhstan, India and Qatar.