BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN are set to be one of seven senior men’s basketball national teams that will be taking part in the 26th Arab Men’s Basketball Championship.
The prestigious Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) tournament is set to be hosted by the kingdom for the first time in its history from Friday to August 2.
The ABC announced that the participating countries include defending champions Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, and hosts Bahrain.
The kingdom was awarded the hosting rights for the competition following the withdrawal as hosts of the Federation Tunisienne de Basketball, the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) said in a statement.
The BBA added that staging the event comes in line with the vision of Supreme Council for Youth and Sport first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa to attract the most prominent sporting occasions to the kingdom.
All games are to be held at Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town.
The draw for the tournament is scheduled to take place tomorrow. The format of play has also yet to be announced by the ABC and BBA.
Bahrain’s last participation in the Arab Men’s Basketball Championship was in the 2018 edition held in Cairo. Only five nations took part then, and the nationals were ranked fourth overall.
The Bahrainis’ best-ever finish was in the year prior, also at the Egyptian capital, when they captured the bronze medals to join gold-medallists Egypt and silver-medal winners Morocco on the podium. It was Bahrain’s first and only medal in their tournament appearances.
The Egyptians won the previous edition of the competition held in 2023 at home. They had defeated Libya in the final, while Tunisia came away with the bronze medals. It was their record 13th title.
The Tunisians have won the championship four times, while Saud Arabia triumphed twice. Five nations have clinched the title once, namely Algeria, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Sudan.
This year’s Arab Men’s Basketball Championship will be the national team’s second competition under head coach Georgios Vovoras. The renowned Greek tactician has just led the senior men’s squad to a 6-2 win-loss record in the 44th William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei. The Bahrainis concluded their participation yesterday, with the final day of action scheduled for today.
Vovoras is expected to have generally the same line-up from the William Jones Cup in the upcoming regional meeting, given the short break between both tournaments.
Bahrain’s hosting of the Arab Men’s Basketball Championship follows the kingdom’s successful staging of the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) Championship for National Teams 2024 last September.
The home side made history in that event, clinching their first-ever GBA title. They were coached then by Lebanese tactician Jad El Hajj, who Vovoras has replaced.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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