BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S youth men’s basketball national team lost to their counterparts from China 58-75 yesterday in their concluding assignment of the 31st Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany.
The Bahrainis trailed early on and fell behind by as many as 25 points in the contest.
The loss put them in 12th and last place in the competition’s final rankings.
The nationals were making their debut participation in the prestigious under-18 event, where they faced some of the biggest basketball nations from around the world.
They lost all five of their games in Group A of the competition’s preliminary round, including defeats to hosts Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, Japan, and Türkiye. That set the stage for their final classification game against the Chinese yesterday.
Big man Hassan Abdulqader top scored for Bahrain with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Arab youth Most Valuable Player Somto Patrick Onoduenyi chipped in with 17 points and 15 boards was their only other player in double figures. Mahdi Baqer added eight for the Bahrainis.
Zhao Boxin had 14 to pace China while Chen Yuxiu finished with 13 and Zhang Yizhaojie scored 11 in their win.
With the completion of their campaign in Germany, the Bahrainis now shift their focus to the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) qualifiers for the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026.
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.
The nationals were bronze-medallists from the previous GBA U18 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.
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