BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S youth men’s basketball national team began their final preparations in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, yesterday ahead of the Fiba U16 Asia Cup 2025, which tips off on Sunday.
The nationals went to work on the hardwood under the supervision of Tunisian head coach Racem Marzougui as the days continued to count down to the start of the continental tournament.
The Bahrainis held two practices – one in the morning and the other in the evening – and they will continue with this programme today. They are scheduled to play a tune-up game tomorrow against hosts Mongolia.
Bahrain’s youth men’s squad are the recently crowned Arab and Gulf champions. They are participating in this 16-team tournament as one of two squads representing the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA). They secured their spot in the Mongolian capital after winning the title in the Fiba U16 Asia Cup GBA Qualifiers 2025, held in the kingdom in July.
They then added to that title by securing the crown in the 22nd U16 Arab Basketball Championship for Youth in Cairo, Egypt, which concluded just last week.
Bahrain are in Group A for the tournament’s preliminary round alongside Australia, Lebanon, and India. Group B is composed of New Zealand, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, and Indonesia; Group C features China, South Korea, Malaysia, and hosts Mongolia; and Group D comprises Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, and Saudi Arabia, who are the other GBA side to have qualified.
The nationals are set to open their competition schedule against Australia on Sunday, before playing Lebanon the next day. They then face off with India in their concluding group stage fixture on Tuesday next week.
After a single round-robin, the four group winners will move on directly to the quarter-finals, while the teams ranked second and third in each pool will play in a play-off round on September 4. The four victors from that elimination phase will complete the cast in the elite eight, which will take place on September 5.
The semi-finals are then scheduled for September 6, to be followed by the gold and bronze medal games on September 7. Classification contests will also be held on the tournament’s last two days.
The Fiba U16 Asia Cup 2025, which is in its eighth edition, also acts as a qualifier for the Fiba U17 Basketball World Cup 2026, which will be held in Türkiye. The top four teams from Ulaanbaatar will earn their berths in Istanbul.
This year’s Fiba U16 Asia Cup marks its eighth edition. Bahrain are playing for the sixth time and for the third straight tournament. Their best finish was an impressive eighth in the 2013 event in Tehran, while they were 15th in the 2023 competition in Doha, Qatar.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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