BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN have named their final 14-player roster for the 23rd Arab Youth Men’s Basketball Championship 2026, to be held in Sfax, Tunisia, from Saturday to July 4.
The kingdom’s youth national team are one of six squads set to hit the hardwood in the under-18 tournament, which is being organised by the Arab Basketball Confederation (ABC) and the Federation Tunisienne de Basketball.
The other participating nations are Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, and hosts Tunisia.
Bahrain are to be spearheaded in the tournament by top stars and twin towers Somto Patrick Onoduenyi and Hassan Abdulkadir. The rest of the team list includes Mohammed Adel, Yousef Alsamaheeji, Mohammed Farhan, Ali Khalil, Ali Ferdowsi, Ali Al Haddad, Mujtaba Rayyan, Ali Ayman, Hussain Madan, Jock James, Mahdi Habib, and Hussain Fouad.
The Bahrainis are coached by veteran Bahraini tactician Salman Ramadhan, under whose supervision they have been training locally in preparation for the Arab competition.
The draw for the event was held yesterday by the ABC to determine the official schedule of games, which are all to be played at Sfax’s Raed Al Bajawi Hall.
The nationals open their campaign Saturday against Algeria at 4pm and then take on the host Tunisians the following evening at 6pm. Bahrain next face Libya on Monday next week at 2pm, after which a rest day for all teams will be held on Tuesday.
The Bahrainis resume action next Wednesday against Morocco at 2pm before playing their concluding contest of the preliminary phase against Egypt on Thursday next week at 4pm.
All times are Bahrain.
After the single round-robin, the top two teams on the standings will move on to face off for the gold medals, while the third and fourth-ranked squads will battle for bronze.
Bahrain’s youth men’s squad were visited during their training session at the Bahrain Basketball Association Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex by Bahrain Olympic Committee vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
Shaikh Isa followed up on the Bahrainis’ preparations and spoke with Ramadhan, his staff, and the players. He expressed his confidence in their abilities and wished them success in the championship.
The Bahrainis are competing in Sfax as part of their programme ahead of the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U18 Championship 2026, set to be held in Doha, Qatar from July 17 to 22.
The GBA event will act as a qualifier for the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, with the three nations climbing the podium at the Qatari capital earning their places in the biennial Fiba Asia event, to be played in Ahmedabad, India from Aug 13 to 23.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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