BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN put up a valiant fight against continental powerhouses Lebanon last night in a tough 78-84 loss in their penultimate assignment of the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
The kingdom’s senior men’s basketball national team battled back from as many as 18 points down in the fourth quarter to get to within four in the game’s closing seconds. But it was too late for the hosts at Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town, as they came no closer the rest of the way and the undefeated Lebanese eked out the win.
With the result, the Bahrainis head into their concluding game of qualification on Monday with a must-win against Syria, who routed the UAE 86-61 in yesterday’s other divisional clash played in Doha, Qatar.
Both Bahrain and Syria are now tied on the Group F table with two wins and three losses each, with the Bahrainis currently holding the tie-break advantage, as per Fiba rules. The winner of their head-to-head, which wraps up both teams’ bid in this stage of qualification, join Lebanon in earning their tickets to the Fiba Asia Cup 2025, which will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this August.
Monday’s contest will be played at Al Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall in the Qatari capital. It is scheduled for a 10pm tip-off, Bahrain time. Lebanon host the UAE in the other divisional game that evening in Zouk Mikael, scheduled to begin at the same time.
In last night’s affair, the Bahrainis stayed close for much of the first period but Lebanon closed the quarter strong and took a 22-15 lead. The visitors then took firm control of the contest in the second, outscoring the Bahrainis by nine to head into the half up 49-33.
The home side began to fight back in the third and got to within single digits following an Ahmed Salman three-pointer that made it 44-52 with more than six minutes still to play. Subah Hussain had a lay-up to reduce the deficit even further, but the Lebanese replied right immediately and a Sergio El Darwich lay-up gave them a 68-57 cushion heading into the final frame. There, Bahrain’s brave effort came up short.
They trailed by 18, 62-80, following a basket by Ater Majok, with only five minutes left. But a remarkable 14-2 run, which included three triples from Mohammed Ameer, Mustafa Hussain, and Salman and then capped by four more points from Ameer, made it 76-82 with under a minute to go. A pair of Salman free-throws then brought Bahrain to within 78-82, but El Darwich iced it with two charity shots and five seconds on the clock.
Hussain finished as the Bahrainis’ leading scorer in the loss with 22 points, while Wayne Chism added 21 points and 11 rebounds. Salman contributed 18 markers, while Ameer had eight. Majok led a balanced attack for the winners with 18. Wael Arakji chipped in with 17 while Amir Saoud had 13 and El Darwich 12.
Bahrain are amongst 24 countries divided into six groups in this stage of qualification. Saudi are already assured of their place as the tournament’s hosts, while nine others have also already punched their tickets from these qualifiers, as of last night.
They include Lebanon from Bahrain’s group, two-time defending champions Australia and South Korea from Group A, the Philippines and New Zealand from Group B, Japan and China from Group C, Jordan from Group D, and Iran and Qatar from Group E. Following this stage, the six third-placed teams from all the groups will play for four final places at the tournament proper, depending on the performance of Saudi, who are currently second in Group D.
The Fiba Asia Cup is the continent’s premier basketball tournament, featuring senior men’s national teams from Fiba Asia as well as from Fiba Oceania. Bahrain are looking to qualify for the championship for the 10th time.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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