BASKETBALL – Bahrain's three teams all powered through to the semi-finals of their respective competitions last night in the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U21 3x3 Championships, currently being hosted by the kingdom at Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH) in Manama.
The Bahraini women’s team and both the men’s A and B squads swept their preliminary round games yesterday to book their seats in the last four.
The tournaments, being held for the first time by the GBA and organised in co-operation with the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA), are part of an action-packed week of 3x3 basketball at BFH – to be headlined by the highly anticipated Manama Final, taking place tomorrow and Saturday as the season-ending event of the Fiba 3x3 World Tour 2025.
The GBA U21 competitions, which conclude today, feature teams from Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
In the women’s battles, Bahrain’s quartet of Bayan Salman, Aya Kamali, Noor Najaf, and Bayan Marhoon cruised to three successive resounding victories to clinch the top seed for the last four, which will be held this evening.
They opened their campaign in yesterday’s preliminary round with a 16-8 triumph over Kuwait, and then defeated Qatar 18-12. They then wrapped up the stage with an 18-5 rout of Oman.
Bahrain’s women will next face off with Kuwait in their semi-final, scheduled for 5pm.
Qatar and Oman clash in the other last-four contest at 5.20pm.
On the distaff, Bahrain’s men’s A team won both their games in Pool B of their tournament’s first phase.
They beat Oman B 17-15 and then edged Kuwait 16-14.
Their foursome is made up of Ismail Kamal, Mohammed Ghazi, Elyas Younes, and Ali Khalid.
The kingdom’s B side, composed of Mahdi Hubail, Mishal Mohammed, Hassan Ali Ghareeb, and Hamad Faisal, also won their two fixtures.
They began their title bid by beating Qatar 16-10 and then outclassed Oman A 21-10.
Bahrain’s A team will take on the Qataris in their semi-final at 6pm, following the other game of this stage between Bahrain B and Oman B at 5.40pm.
The finals and clashes for third place in both the women’s and men’s competitions will follow later this evening.
All are welcome to attend. Entrance is free of charge.
The GBA championships are setting the stage and building the excitement for this weekend’s Manama Final, featuring 14 of the best teams from Fiba 3x3 World Tour 2025, including two squads representing hosts Bahrain.
They are long-time 3x3 powerhouses Riffa and series debutants Seef.
The field will be vying for a share of the total prize purse of more than $200,000.
Riffa are one of 11 outfits already in the group stage.
They are in the same division as Ub from Serbia and Vienna from Austria.
Pool B features Miami from the US along with Chongming and Hangzhou, both from China.
Pool C comprises Amsterdam Rabobank from the Netherlands, Raudondvaris Hoptrans from Lithuania, and Partizan from Serbia; while Pool D is composed of Liman from Serbia, Toulouse from France, and one team that will book their berth from the qualifying draw.
Seef are in the qualifiers, where they will face Skyliners from Germany and Lugano from Switzerland for just one available berth in the tournament proper.
The qualification phase is to be held from 10am tomorrow, with the pool games starting from 3.10pm.
The knockout rounds, culminating with the final, will take place on Saturday.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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