BASKETBALL – Bahrain’s men were crowned champions while the women were silver-medallists in the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) 3x3 Championships last night, which wrapped up in Muscat, Oman.
The kingdom’s men’s squad, comprising Mohammed Kowayed, Milos Supica, Bogdan Dragovic, and Hassan Fahad, secured their crown after defeating their counterparts from Qatar 20-16 in the gold medal contest.
With the Bahrainis leading 18-16 and less than a minute to play, Kowayed buried a two-pointer to put them on the brink of the win.
Although they did not reach the 21-point target, they did enough to clinch victory as time expired.
The nationals had previously earned their berth in the championship game following a 21-14 triumph against their Kuwaiti counterparts in the final four, also played yesterday.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s women’s team, represented by Bayan Salman, Aya Kamali, Hessa Al Jaber, and Meryan Sameer, narrowly missed out on their title after suffering a narrow 17-20 defeat in their final.
The nationals battled hard until the last second, but could not overcome the Saudis’ size advantage.
Salman fired in a two-pointer right before the game-ending buzzer to cut the final margin.
Earlier in the semis, the Bahrainis marched through to the title-decider with a hard-earned 12-10 triumph over Kuwait.
At the conclusion of play last night, the winners were awarded their respective trophies and medals by officials from the GBA and the Oman Basketball Association.
Dragovic also came away with an individual accolade after being named the men’s tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
He was presented with a special trophy.
&uuid=(email))