BAHRAIN will play Lebanon tomorrow in a top-of-the-table Group F clash of the Fiba 2025 Asia Cup Qualifiers at the Nouhad Nawful Sports Complex in the Lebanese city of Zouk Mikael.
Both teams have two points each after winning their opening encounters last Friday. Bahrain beat the UAE 70-64 at the Khalifa Sports City Arena while Lebanon defeated Syria, 87-78, in Damascus. But Lebanon, who are ranked third in Asia and 28th in the Fiba world rankings, head the four-team table because of cumulative points difference and will have a psychological advantage since they are playing on home turf. However, Bahrain, ranked 11th in Asia and 69th in the world, demonstrated in their win over the UAE that they are a force to be reckoned with. And their most potent weapon lies in the form of the irrepressible Mustafa Husain, the 22-year-old guard who has gone from strength to strength over the past two years.
Husain scored 28 points to go with two rebounds and an assist in the victory over the UAE.
It was just the latest in a long string of match-winning efforts that he has produced for not just the national team but his former club, Manama, whom he led to title wins in the Zain Basketball League, the Khalifa bin Salman Cup and the inaugural Fiba West Asia Super League (WASL) last year.
Backing Husain up will be power forwards 6’9” Bahraini-American Devon Dwayne Chism, and 6’6” Mohammed Ameer Hamooda, 6’4” centre Ali Shukralla and guards Maitham Jameel and Ali Jaber.
Lebanon, meanwhile, will look to their 6’4” point guard Wael Arakji to try and repeat his performance from the win over Syria where he scored 19 points to go along with eight assists. The hosts will also hope that 6’11” power forward Norvel Pelle, who netted 17 points to go with seven rebounds in the game against Syria is able to do even better against Bahrain tomorrow.
The 6’2” shooting guard, Amir Saoud, who scored 12 points along with one rebound and three assists in the Syria game, and 6’8” centre Gerard Hadidian, who scored 11 points along with three rebounds in that encounter, will add even more heft to the opposition that Bahrain will encounter. The game will start at 10pm, Bahrain time.