BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S bid to qualify for Asia’s biggest basketball tournament came to a disappointing end last night.
The kingdom’s senior men’s basketball national team lost to their counterparts from Iraq 72-85 in their decisive game in the final qualifying tournament for West Asia for the Fiba Asia Cup 2025.
The nationals fell behind by as many as 22 points and lost for the second time in as many nights – ensuring that they miss out on this year’s continental showcase, set to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in August.
The Bahrainis had previously suffered a narrow 77-81 defeat to India on Saturday and needed to win yesterday’s fixture to qualify for the Fiba Asia Cup.
But they came up short and Iraq took the last available berth in the prestigious tournament.
Bahrain trailed from the opening tip and were in a 22-30 hole at the end of the first quarter.
The nationals continued to struggle in the second and went down by 14, 33-47, following a Hassan Abdullah lay-up. Abdullah was on target once again, this time from beyond the arc, right before the half-time buzzer to give the Iraqis a commanding 53-35 cushion.
After the break, Iraq didn’t let up and a Mohammed Al Khafaji basket made it 57-38.
The visitors then enjoyed their biggest lead at 60-38 after Abdullah buried another triple.
But the Bahrainis tried to fight back and an Ahmed Alderazi three-pointer followed by a Mustafa Hussain fastbreak lay-up brought them to within 52-64.
The hosts were able to get within single digits but the Iraqis restored their gap.
An Ali Shukrallah basket that beat the third quarter buzzer made it 60-71 with only the final period to play.
There, six straight points by Murad Zewki to start the quarter helped Iraq build a 77-60 advantage, and they held on until the end despite Bahrain’s best efforts.
Alderazi had 19 points to pace the Jad El Hajj-coached Bahrainis while Hussain chipped in with 17 and Mohammed Juma’a had 14.
For the Iraqis, three players had 16 points apiece to spearhead their balanced attack, including Demario Mayfield, who had an impressive triple double after also posting 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Abdullah and Ali Ismael also finished with 16, while Zewki scored 13 in the win.
With Iraq’s victory, the 16-nation line-up for the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 is now complete.
The Iraqis joined India as the two teams to qualify from the tournament in Bahrain.
They join Australia, Lebanon and Jordan – who were the top three teams of the last Fiba Asia Cup in 2022 – and Japan, China, Iran, South Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Qatar, Syria, and the host Saudis.
Chinese Taipei and Guam are also in the competition, having booked their spots as the top two sides in the final qualifying tournament for East Asia.
Bahrain last missed the bus to the continental showcase in its 2017 edition.
They qualified for the 2023 tournament, where they finished 13th overall amongst 16 participating countries.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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