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BASKETBALL – Bahrain named yesterday the final 14-player squad that will be going for gold in the highly anticipated 26th Arab Men’s Basketball Championship, which gets underway today in the kingdom.
The Arab Basketball Confederation (ABC) event is being held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sport first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. It is being organised and run in cooperation with the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA).
The kingdom’s senior men’s national team, coached by Greek tactician Georgios Vovoras, have all 12 of their players that recently won the bronze medals in the 44th William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei returning for the Arab challenge. Those players include 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.
They are joined by 16-year-old Hassan Abdulkadir and 15-year-old Somto Onoduenyi, who helped spearhead the kingdom’s youth national team to the title earlier this month in the Fiba U16 Asia Cup Gulf Basketball Association Qualifiers 2025, also hosted by the kingdom.
The Bahrainis get their campaign underway tonight against continental powerhouses Qatar. Their clash is scheduled for an 8pm tip-off. Also today, Algeria face Tunisia at 4pm, followed by the UAE taking on Kuwait at 6pm. Defending champions Egypt have a bye today.
All games are to be played at Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town. Entry to all games is free.
Speaking ahead of the start of the seven-nation tournament, BBA president Alaa Mudara expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to Shaikh Khalid for his patronage of the competition. Mudara further praised Shaikh Khalid’s continuous support for Bahraini sports, particularly basketball, and his constant keenness to ensure the success of various sporting events hosted by the kingdom.
Mudara also conveyed his thanks and appreciation to BOC vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa for his great efforts and interest in Bahrain’s hosting the championship.
Mudara welcomed the Arab teams and ABC officials participating in the tournament and wished them success and a pleasant stay in the kingdom.
Play is to be held in league format, with the team boasting the best record after a single round-robin emerging as champions. Action is scheduled to continue daily until August 2, with two rest days on Monday and then again on Thursday next week.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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