PALESTINE and Saudi Arabia were both victorious last night on the final day of action in the Fiba Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers Western Region, which was held this week in Bahrain.
The Palestinians posted a convincing 77-57 win over host Bahrainis while Saudi routed Bangladesh 109-56.
Following yesterday’s results, Saudi, Palestine, Bahrain and Sri Lanka all punched their tickets to the main qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2021. Only Bangladesh could not claim a spot, after finishing in last place in these qualifiers with a winless record in four games.
The Saudis were top-ranked after finishing undefeated, while Palestine were second with a 3-1 win-loss mark. Bahrain were third on 2-2 and Sri Lanka fourth with a 1-3 record.
In Palestine’s win, the West Asians built a big lead early on and never looked back, leading by as many as 23 points. Bahrain tried valiantly to cut the deficit and managed to get within 10 points in the final quarter, but they couldn’t narrow the gap any further as their rivals made all the key plays in the end.
Power forward Sani Sakakini had his usual monster game of 29 points and 18 rebounds to lead the winners. He also buried three three-pointers while registering three steals.
Point guard Mark Hill had 21 points, including four triples, and nine assists.
Mohammed Ameer scored 20 points before fouling out from the game. He was their only player in double-figures as the nationals struggled from the field all night, while two other players also had five fouls.
In Saudi’s big win over Bangladesh, seven-footer Mohammed Al Suwailem led the way with 21 points and eight rebounds.
The main qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2021 are scheduled to take place next year.