BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN punched their tickets yesterday to the gold medal game of the 23rd Arab Youth Men’s Basketball Championship 2026 while maintaining their pristine record so far in the under-18 tournament, currently being played in Sfax, Tunisia.
The kingdom’s youth men’s national team routed their counterparts from Morocco 73-46 for their fourth successive preliminary round victory at Sfax’s Raed Al Bawaji Hall.
The Salman Ramadhan-coached Bahrainis were in control for virtually the entire contest and powered ahead by as many as 31 points late on.
Twin towers Hassan Abdulkadir and Somto Patrick Onoduenyi were once again dominant for the nationals. Abdulkadir scored a team-high 15 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking two shots, while Onoduenyi had just five points but also grabbed 13 boards and registered five blocks.
Bahrain’s triumph extended their unbeaten run in the competition’s opening phase to four games with one fixture remaining. It is today against Egypt, who have also been perfect so far in their schedule and are also through to the final.
The Egyptians were 60-38 winners against Libya in another game yesterday and, against the Bahrainis today, will clash for first place on the standings to wrap up the preliminaries.
The game is scheduled for a 3.15pm tip-off, Bahrain time, but it will have no bearing on who advances to the title-decider. Bahrain will be looking to add to their victories against the Libyans, Algeria, hosts Tunisia, and against Morocco yesterday.
The gold medal game is scheduled to be played on Saturday, while the third and fourth-ranked squads will compete for the bronze medals the same day.
Bahrain’s participation in Sfax is part of their preparations for the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U18 Championship 2026, set to be held in Doha, Qatar from July 17 to 22.
In the Bahrainis’ win yesterday, they took a quick 9-3 lead midway through the opening period and never looked back. After heading into the second up 14-9, they raised the intensity with a 24-point quarter and headed into the interval with a 38-25 advantage.
Bahrain then held Morocco to single digits in the third as they continued to add to their cushion to make it 57-33 with only the final frame remaining. There, they cruised to the final buzzer to claim their biggest win of the tournament to date.
Bahrain skipper Mahdi Habib Baqer scored with 14 points and dished out seven assists in yesterday’s affair, while Hussain Fuad was their third and only other player in double figures with 11.
Chemsi Yaseen Hakeem paced Morocco with 18 points while Driouch Ismail had seven points and 13 rebounds. The Moroccans suffered their second defeat after four outings and are in the running for a place in the bronze medal match.
Bahrain’s upcoming bid in the GBA championship will also see them vying for a berth in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026. The three nations climbing the podium at the Qatari capital will earn 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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