BASKETBALL – Bahrain bowed to continental powerhouses China 69-84 yesterday to end their title ambitions in the Fiba U16 Asia Cup 2025, currently being held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The kingdom’s youth men’s basketball national team put in a valiant effort in the quarter-final affair, but their heavily favoured opponents were too good on the day.
The nationals also missed the services of star big man Somto Patrick Onoduenyi for a second straight contest due to injury.
They fell behind by as many as 23 points in the third quarter and then got back to within 10 with just over a minute to play in the fourth.
But it was too late and the Chinese closed the game strong, scoring the last five points for their comfortable winning margin.
Bahrain’s loss dropped them to the fifth-to-eighth classification bracket, where they are joined by Iran, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei.
They take on their Iranian counterparts at 6.30am, Bahrain time, today, for the right to play for fifth place.
The losers will battle for seventh on the final rankings.
South Korea and Chinese Taipei battle in the other classification game today at 9am, Bahrain time.
Through to the semi-finals and joining China were three-time defending champions Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
The Australians outclassed the South Koreans 98-70, the Kiwis ousted Iran 92-69, and Japan defeated Chinese Taipei 83-72.
China and New Zealand face off in one semi-final today at 11.30am, followed by the other between Australia and Japan at 2pm. Both times are Bahrain.
The Fiba U16 Asia Cup 2025 is in its eighth edition, and it also acts as a qualifier for the Fiba U17 Basketball World Cup 2026, which will be held in Türkiye.
All four semi-finalists have earned their berths in Istanbul.
In Bahrain’s loss yesterday, they led briefly in the opening quarter but once China powered ahead at 19-16 with three free-throws from Yuxiu Chen, they never looked back.
The Chinese took a 21-16 advantage into the second period, which they extended to 42-31 at the break.
The Bahrainis then faced their largest deficit in the third when Zhanfeng Zhou buried a three-pointer to put them 68-45 in front.
They stayed in control 68-50 with only the final frame to play, and they did enough to come away with the big win.
Hassan Abdulkadir had a monster effort of 29 points and 21 rebounds for Bahrain as he tried to carry the team without his frontcourt mate Onoduenyi, with whom they formed a formidable tandem of twin towers.
Hussain Fuad Ghuloom chipped in with 14 but he was the Bahrainis’ only other player in double figures.
Ali Husain Mohamed added eight markers, while no other player scored more than four points in the loss.
China’s Chunzhi Zhang spearheaded their balanced attack with 19 points and 11 boards.
Chen and Minghao Shi had 12 apiece, while Boxin Zhao scored 11 in the win.
Bahrain are playing in the Fiba U16 Asia Cup for the sixth time and for the third straight tournament.
They secured their spot after being crowned champions of the Gulf Basketball Association qualifiers.
They are now looking to secure their best-ever classification in the history of the tournament.
Their current top finish was eighth in the 2013 event.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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