BASKETBALL – Bahrain must be prepared to face their biggest-ever challenge in international basketball when they make their historic maiden appearance in a FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) early next month.
This has been stressed by recently signed senior men’s national basketball team head coach Jad El Hajj, the former lead tactician of his native Lebanon, whom he guided at last year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“We are trying to explain it to the guys every day; it’s the biggest stage that they are going to,” El Hajj told the GDN on the sidelines of a national team practice. “They have never played at this global level before and this is one of the biggest stages they can show up on.”
The Bahrainis qualified for their OQT after sweeping their five games en route to winning their FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Damascus, Syria, in August of last year. There, they outclassed the likes of Saudi Arabia, India, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and the host Syrians, but now they move on to face even bigger opposition in their OQT, including FIBA Europe powerhouses Italy and FIBA Americas giants Puerto Rico.
“I experienced it before in the World Cup with the Lebanese national team – we played against big teams like Latvia, Canada, and France, and we saw the real level there,” El Hajj explained. “You go to the games full of passion, hungry to play, and the moment you are on court, you see the real value of these national teams.
“You go back to reality and understand the difference between each country. In the OQT, I think it’s going to be similar.”
Bahrain are one of 24 senior men’s squads taking part in four separate OQTs, which are to be hosted at different locations across the globe from July 2 to 7. Their OQT will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they are in Group B for the preliminary round along with the Italians and the hosts. Group A features Mexico, Ivory Coast and Lithuania.
The nationals face Italy on July 2 and then they take on Puerto Rico the following day. They need to finish amongst the top two nations in their group to advance to the semi-finals on July 6, while the final will be held on July 7.
Only the winning nation in each of the four OQTs will book their ticket to the Paris Olympics, where they will join home side France, Germany, Serbia, Japan, Australia, Canada, the US and South Sudan.
“It’s a very big challenge,” El Hajj highlighted. ”Twenty-four teams now for only four spots. It’s going to be very hard, especially in some groups where there are two or three big teams. For us, it’s a great chance to get more experience playing against high-level countries.”
Bahrain’s OQT will be El Hajj’s first competition with the national team. He only started working with the kingdom’s squad around two weeks ago, but said that their preparations are progressing well.
“We are improving day by day,” he explained. “This is very important for me. From coach to coach, there is a different philosophy, different kind of basketball. Now, we are building again.
“The guys have been humble, they are working hard, and focusing to get better and giving everything for the national team.”
Bahrain began their local training gathering with an initial squad of 24 players, which they have now trimmed to 15. They will then make their last cuts soon to complete a final 12-man roster for their OQT.
El Hajj revealed that the nationals will be boosted by the participation of talented guard-forward Muzamil Ameer Hamoda, who is a student-athlete at Sacramento State in the US, where he plays Division I basketball in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Sacramento State are in the NCAA’s Big Sky Conference, where Hamoda won an honourable mention all-conference selection for the 2023-24 season.
“Our OQT is going to be interesting; let’s see how we are going to perform,” El Hajj noted. “I always know that when you play against high level teams, you have to step up and you have to play very well.”
Aside from their OQT, the Bahrainis are also gearing up to compete in the Gulf Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be hosted by the kingdom from September 2 to 9. The nationals will then resume their campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers with two games in November.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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