THE FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019 GBA qualifiers starts tomorrow at the Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town with eight of the best clubs from across the Gulf in the fray.
The top three will qualify for the GBA sub-zone round one of the Road to the Final Eight-West Asia for the Champions Cup.
National league finalists from 2018 Manama and Al Ahli will represent Bahrain in the event which concludes on May 27.
The other teams in the fray are Sharjah and Shabab Al Ahli Dubai from the UAE, Al Shamal and Al Araby from Qatar, Ohod from Saudi Arabia and Al Seeb from Oman.
Foreign
All teams feature two foreign professionals. Manama have signed six-foot, five-inch American Terrico White and six-foot, 11-inch Maciej Lampe from Poland for this event while Ahli have picked up Manama’s former import, six-foot, nine-inch American Wayne Chism to team up with his compatriot six-foot, eight-inch Kiwi Marcel Jones.
The eight teams are divided into two groups of four and will play in a round-robin format.
Group ‘A’ features Sharjah, Araby, Ohod and Bahrain’s Ahli while Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, Shamal, Seeb and Bahrain’s Manama are in Group ‘B’.
The round-robin continues until Tuesday and will be followed by the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, Bahrain Basketball Association president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa visited the tournament venue and witnessed the training sessions of Manama and Al Ahli and wished both teams all success.
Tomorrow’s schedule:
3pm: Sharjah vs Ohod. 5pm: Ahli and Araby. 7pm: Manama and Seeb.