BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN will play a tough six-game schedule in the highly anticipated 26th edition of the Arab Men’s Basketball Championship, which is set to be hosted by the kingdom starting Friday.
The official draw for the tournament was held virtually yesterday by the Arab Basketball Confederation (ABC), who are organising the event in cooperation with the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA).
The seven-nation competition will be played in league format, it was confirmed yesterday, with the team boasting the best record after a single round-robin emerging as champions.
Tournament director and BBA official Mohammed Ahmed announced that three games will be held on each of the seven days of play at Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town.
Bahrain will begin their gold medal bid against continental powerhouses Qatar on opening night at 8pm. Also on day one, Tunisia will face off with Algeria at 4pm, to be followed by the UAE taking on Kuwait at 6pm. Defending champions Egypt have a bye on Friday and will take to the hardwood for the first time on Saturday against the Qataris.
There will be two rest days, first on Monday next week and then again on July 31. The last day of action is scheduled for August 2, when the crown is expected to be decided.
Following the Bahrainis’ clash with Qatar, they then take on the UAE the following evening before facing Tunisia on Sunday. They then lock horns with the Egyptians on Tuesday next week, before playing their concluding two fixtures against Algeria and Kuwait on the last two days of the tournament, respectively.
Ahmed also revealed yesterday that the first group of participating Arab delegations are scheduled to arrive in the kingdom today along with ABC officials, headed by ABC secretary general Major General Abdulla Shalabi.
Ahmed added that the organising committee has completed all logistical preparations to welcome the kingdom’s guests, and praised the collective efforts made to ensure an exceptional edition that reflects Bahrain’s position as a leading host of Arab championships.
Bahrain’s last participation in the Arab Men’s Basketball Championship was in the 2018 edition held in Cairo. Their 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 kingdom’s senior men’s national team head coach Georgios Vovoras is expected to have a roster that is identical to the one that won the bronze medals at the just-concluded 44th William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei. Their line-up included Mustafa Hussain, Ahmed Salman, JaKarr Sampson, Wayne Chism, Mohammed Ameer, Subah Hussain, Ali Jaber, Mohammed Buallay, Ahmed Bindayneh, Mahmood Abbas, Ali Hussain, and Abdulqader Thani.
Bahrain’s hosting of this year’s Arab Men’s Basketball Championship follows the kingdom’s successful staging of the Gulf Basketball Association Championship for National Teams 2024 last September, when they made history and won the crown for the first time.
The kingdom was awarded the hosting rights following the last-minute withdrawal as hosts of the Federation Tunisienne de Basketball.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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