BASKETBALL – Bahrain’s youth men’s basketball national team participated in the official closing ceremony of the 31st Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany.
The Bahrainis finished the 12-team competition in last place in what was their debut appearance in the prestigious under-18 event.
The kingdom’s representatives took part in the parade of nations during the gathering, and they received a token of appreciation from organisers.
The nationals played some of the biggest basketball countries in the championship, gaining valuable experience but losing all their assignments, including their games against hosts and eventual title winners Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, Japan, and Türkiye in the preliminary round, and then against China in their concluding classification affair.
The Germans secured the crown after defeating Slovenia 83-79 in the final. Joining them on the podium were Brazil, who edged past Serbia in the game for third place.
Ranked fifth through 11th, respectively, were Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Türkiye, Latvia, Sweden, and China.
Bahrain competed in the tournament with a squad that featured Arab youth Most Valuable Player Somto Patrick Onoduenyi, Hassan Abdulqader, Mahdi Baqer, Hussain Madan, Mujtaba Rayan, Khalid Alhasan, Mohamed Adel, Ali Mohamed, Ali Barhoom, Mohammed Farhan, Jock James, and Ali Redha.
The Bahrainis’ participation in Germany was part of their preparations for the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) qualifiers for the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026.
Sixteen teams will book their berths in 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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