BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S youth men’s basketball national team suffered a heavy 59-116 loss against powerhouses and hosts Germany last night in their opening game of the 31st Albert Schweitzer Tournament.
The Bahrainis fell behind by double digits early and never recovered as they made their debut in the prestigious under-18 competition. They trailed 14-37 at the end of the first quarter and fell behind by as many as the final 57-point losing margin.
Hassan Abdulqader paced the nationals in the defeat with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Ali Barhoom and Mahdi Baqer chipped in with 11 apiece. Arab youth Most Valuable Player Somto Patrick Onoduenyi was held to just eight points and six rebounds.
The Bahrainis allowed six German players to finish in double figures, led by the 16 markers of Lucai Anderson. Fin Borczanowski and Kenan Youdom had 14 apiece.
Bahrain and Germany are both in Group A for the preliminary round along with Sweden, Slovenia, Japan, and Türkiye. Group B is composed of China, Brazil, New Zealand, Latvia, Serbia, and Italy.
Also yesterday, the Bahrainis took part in the official opening ceremony, where the players took to the court for the parade of national teams.
The kingdom’s representatives will be looking to bounce back today when they return to the hardwood against their Swedish counterparts at 6.15pm. They play their third game against Slovenia tomorrow, also at 6.15pm, and then after a rest day on Tuesday, face off with fellow-Asian side Japan on Wednesday at 2.15pm. Their final game of the preliminary stage will be against their Turkish rivals on Thursday at 2.45pm. All times are Bahrain.
Following group play, the top two teams from each pool will move on to the semi-finals, to be held on Friday next week. The gold and bronze medal games are then set for the event’s concluding day on Saturday.
Classification contests to rank fifth through 12th overall will also be held on the last two days.
Games are being held in the cities of Mannheim and Viernheim.
Bahrain are playing in Germany as part of their preparations for the Gulf Basketball Association qualifiers for the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, which have yet to be scheduled.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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