BAHRAIN’S new-look national basketball team that will be competing in the Arab Men’s Championship 2018 is being dubbed as a team for the future.
Nearly half the squad is made up of Bahrain’s up-and-coming young players who have all excelled at the youth and junior levels.
They are now set to face a stern test in the regional seniors tournament, which is scheduled to tip off tomorrow in Cairo. The nationals are set to depart for the Egyptian capital today.
According to national team head coach Salman Ramadhan, fielding Bahrain’s best youngsters at the senior men’s international level is part of the vision of Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) President Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa.
“We have a long-term plan for our national team that is the vision of Shaikh Isa, who wants to bring Bahrain basketball to an even higher level in the international game,” said Coach Ramadhan during the team’s practice session last night at Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam.
Standout
“We have a good number of standout players on our under-18 national team. Earlier this year, they finished second in the Arab championship and then were seventh out of 16 teams in Asia. Those are very promising results.
“This can be a very strong team and we have the full support of Shaikh Isa and the BBA. With hard work, we can achieve great things.”
Among the youngsters suiting up for Bahrain are Mustafa Hussain, Mozamel Ameer, Ahmed Khalifa and Sayed Mohammed Hameed.
They are joining several of the national team’s mainstays, many of whom are also still young, including Ahmed Aziz, Maytham Jameel, Mohammed Kuwayed, Mohammed Ameer, Ahmed Hassan Al Derazi, Ali Shukrallah and Mohammed Buallay.
The national team has also gotten some much-needed reinforcement for the Arab championship with naturalised big man Wayne Chism rounding out the line-up.
“This is a good opportunity to build a new team for the future,” Coach Ramadhan added.
“We have height, we have shooters, we have skills, we have a good basketball IQ, and we have strong leadership. We have a lot of things that we need to be successful; they only need to get experience, so we must inject them from now into the national team.”
There are six teams that will be competing in the Arab championship, including Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria and hosts Egypt.
During yesterday’s practice, Shaikh Isa visited the team and gave them words of encouragement ahead of the competition.