TWO emphatic, if not envious, victories from two key matches have put Bahrain firmly on pole position in the 16th GCC Basketball Championship in Kuwait.
With Bahrain set to take on Saudi Arabia today at 5pm, the national team members are brimming with confidence, according to officials in Kuwait.
Bahrain beat UAE with ease – 71-53 – in the first match and wrapped up the second with much to spare, though the score line – 69-62 – may suggest otherwise.
With six points, Bahrain are second on the table, a point behind Saudi Arabia, who are on seven from three matches, and well on course to qualifying for the semi-finals where the top team takes on the fourth-placed side and the second-placed clash with the third-placed, both on Saturday with the final set for the next day.
The UAE are third on four from three, hosts Kuwait fourth with three from two and Qatar last on two from two.
Technical analyst Mohammed Abdulhameed Haji yesterday summed up the mood when he said the focus was now on winning the title and nothing less, like booking a place in the semi-finals or finishing third.
“We have a very good chance of winning this big trophy. We are improving with each match,” said the 18-year-old Mohammed, perhaps the youngest to hold the lofty position of technical analyst.
“We were good against the UAE but much better against Qatar. We developed some defensive tactics. Our offence was stronger, our scoring average better and three-point conversions greater. We were also more creative in set pieces.”
Team manager Abduljalil Khudhair is another delighted official with the Bahrain team in Kuwait.
“We are very happy with our performance so far and hope to improve further,” he said over the phone from Kuwait after Bahrain beat Qatar on Sunday.
“The coach (Darko Russo from Serbia) is satisfied, the players are delighted with their performance and all the officials with the team could not have asked for anything better.”
Even the hard-to-please Bahrain coach Russo, who declined an interview request from the GDN before the team departed for Kuwait, is said to be ‘over the moon.
“Our coach liked the way we played in the first two matches,” said Mohammed, who not only analyses his own team’s performance but also that of the rivals.
He then works out the statistics and provides precious inputs to the Bahrain coaching staff to work out their strategies for the next match. His ‘facts and figures’ are very valuable as it covers all the possible parameters.
“We talk to the players and explain to them about each team. A day before the match, we explain to the players how the opposition play, examine their strategy, the system, offence and defence and everything else,” said Mohammed, who has already tasted success, perhaps, even before getting his driving license.
He was the statistian and assistant technical analyst with Bahrain Basketball Association for two months in 2018 when the kingdom won the Under-19 GCC title in Muscat.
Mohammed a bright lad and, more importantly, very balanced in his attitude and ambitions. He started as a player with Manama and played for four years before leaving as assistant coach.
The next natural progression was joining the Bahrain Basketball Association in 2017 as IT administrator after having pulled off a midnight mission in programming the official electronic scoreboard in a matter of three hours before a key match.
His next mission, not impossible, of course, is very obvious – to plot Bahrain’s success in the 16th GCC Basketball Championship in Kuwait on Sunday.