BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN representatives Seef are set to compete today in the Lion City Challenger 2026 in Singapore – an event that is part of this year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour.
Seef will be hitting the half court with the quartet of Bogdan Dragovic, Austin Ajukwa, Uros Ilic, and Isa Jasim.
They are one of 10 teams already with a berth in the group stage, where the field will be completed by another two squads from the qualifying draw.
Seef are in Pool A along with Antwerp from Belgium – the team formerly flying the kingdom’s flag as Riffa – and home side Singapore. Pool B features Toronto from Canada, Bordeaux from France, and Tokyo from Japan; Pool C includes London from Britain, Princeton from the US, and one of the two qualifiers; and Pool D is composed of Marijampole Mantinga from Lithuania, Valencia Basket from Spain, and the second team to book their seat from qualification.
Six outfits are in qualifying, which has been divided into two groups. Draw A includes Shibuya from Japan, Zavkhan from Mongolia, and Lion City from Singapore, while draw B features Taipei WanBao from Chinese Taipei, Utrecht from the Netherlands, and Nairobi from Kenya.
Seef are scheduled to open their tournament bid against Antwerp at 2.05pm today. They then complete this phase against Singapore at 3.55pm. Both times are Bahrain.
The Bahrainis will be hoping to finish in the top two of their pool to make it through to the knockouts, which are to take place tomorrow.
Seef are coming off their participation in the Sofia Open 3x3 Palms Lite Quest in Bulgaria, where they made it to the elite eight. It was their season debut on this year’s Fiba 3x3 circuit.
The Lion City Challenger is the first-ever edition of the tournament. It also acts as a qualifier for the Fiba 3x3 World Tour Lausanne Masters, scheduled for August 14 and 15 in Switzerland. The top three teams will punch their tickets to the meeting, which is the top-tier level of Fiba 3x3 action.
Bahrain had two teams competing in last year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour, including Seef and Riffa. Dragovic was also a part of the Seef roster then.
The kingdom has been involved as a host nation in the past three seasons of the Fiba 3x3 World Tour. In 2023 and 2024, Bahrain hosted the Manama Masters, while in 2025, the island staged the Fiba 3x3 World Tour Final for the very first time.
Later this year, Bahrain will once again be delighting basketball fans with the Manama Masters, scheduled for November 20 and 21. This campaign’s finale will then take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 12 and 13.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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