BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S youth men’s basketball national team are all geared up to take part in the 31st edition of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany, scheduled to tip off this Saturday and continue until April 11.
The event is one of the most prestigious under-18 basketball competitions in the world.
It will be held in the cities of Mannheim and Viernheim, and Bahrain are part of an exciting 12-nation field featuring some of international basketball’s biggest countries, including Serbia, Slovenia, Türkiye, Latvia, Italy, Brazil, Sweden, China, New Zealand, Japan, and hosts Germany.
The kingdom’s youth men are competing following an official invitation received by the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) from their German counterparts at the Deutscher Basketball Bund (DBB).
The Bahrainis were scheduled to depart for Germany this week for their debut appearance in the tournament, which is to be held under the supervision of the DBB and following International Basketball Federation (Fiba) regulations.
Prior to their departure, BBA president Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa visited the nationals during a local practice session held at BBA Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex.
Shaikh Mohammed spoke with the team’s technical and administrative staff as well as the players, in the presence of BBA vice-president Nader Al Awadhi and BBA board member and financial secretary Mohammed Abdul Samad.
Shaikh Mohammed encouraged the youngsters to exert their maximum effort in the competition and stressed his great confidence in their ability to represent the kingdom in the best possible way.
Bahrain are set to take to the hardwood in Group A of the tournament’s preliminary round alongside Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, Japan, and Türkiye. Group B is composed of China, Brazil, New Zealand, Latvia, Serbia, and Italy.
Bahrain open their campaign against the hosts on Saturday, before taking on the Swedes the following day. They play their third game against Slovenia on Monday next week, and then after a rest day the next day, take on Japan on April 8. Their final game of the preliminary stage will be against their Turkish counterparts on April 9.
Following group play, the top two teams from each pool move on to the semi-finals, to be held on April 10. The gold and bronze medal games are then set for the event’s concluding day on April 11.
Classification contests to rank fifth through 12th will also be held on the last two days.
Bahrain are playing in Germany as part of their preparations for the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) qualifiers for the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, which have yet to be scheduled.
The nationals were bronze-medallists from the previous GBA qualification event in 2024, but missed out on a place in the continental showcase. They will be looking to change that this year and punch their tickets to the Fiba Asia tournament, which is set to be hosted by Doha.
Sixteen teams will make it to the championship, and the nationals will be looking to claim their place for the seventh time – with their last appearance in the 2018 edition in Thailand. patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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