BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S youth basketball national team secured their spot yesterday in the gold medal game of the 22nd U16 Arab Basketball Championship for Youth, currently being played in Cairo, Egypt.
The nationals barged into the final, scheduled for Sunday, following a resounding 93-70 victory against Tunisia at the Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex in the Egyptian capital.
The Bahrainis were spearheaded in the contest by the sensational effort of big man Somto Patrick Onoduenyi, who finished with a monster 28 points, 27 rebounds, and six blocks.
It was the fourth straight win for Bahrain, who remained undefeated in the tournament with one game remaining in the preliminary round.
They never trailed against the Tunisians and enjoyed leads as big as 25 points.
They wrap up their campaign in this stage of the competition today against hosts Egypt. That contest is scheduled for a 9pm tip-off, Bahrain time.
Following a rest day tomorrow, the championship decider will be held Sunday against the other team in the top two of the standings at the end of the ongoing preliminaries.
This year’s U16 Arab Basketball Championship for Youth is being played with six nations in the mix. It has been organised and is being run by the Arab Basketball Confederation (ABC), in cooperation with the Egyptian Basketball Federation.
Yesterday’s win for Bahrain followed three successive routs against Qatar, Algeria, and Kuwait – games they won by an average final margin of more than 27 points.
The Bahrainis got off to a hot start against Tunisia, pouring in 30 points in the opening quarter and taking a nine-point lead into the second. There, they maintained their strong play and closed the period strong to head into the half with a comfortable 48-35 advantage.
The nationals then stayed in front by double digits throughout the second half. A brief surge by the Tunisians got them to within 52-62 with a minute left in the third but baskets by Onoduenyi and Aly Hussien gave Bahrain a 67-53 cushion with only the final quarter to play.
They then extended that lead in the fourth, and an Onoduenyi lay-up with three minutes to go created their biggest gap at 91-66.
Hassan Fouad chipped in with 23 points off the bench for Bahrain, including an impressive five three-pointers. Hassan Abdulkadir added 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Hussien contributed nine and both Youssef Mashaai and skipper Mohamed Ghuloum scored eight apiece.
Adam Al Rafrafi had 25 points to pace Tunisia in the loss, while Zaid Obaidli scored 10.
The nationals are playing in this ABC competition after winning last month the Fiba U16 Asia Cup GBA Qualifiers 2025. They thus also punched their tickets – along with Saudi Arabia – to this year’s Fiba U16 Asia Cup, to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, next month.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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