BASKETBALL – Understrength Bahrain bowed to Egypt 60-88 last night in the 23rd Arab Youth Men’s Basketball Championship 2026, currently being played in Sfax, Tunisia.
The result was the lone defeat for the kingdom’s youth men’s national team in the preliminary round of the under-18 tournament, but it mattered little as they – along with their Egyptian opponents – had already secured their showdown in the gold medal contest, scheduled to be held tomorrow at Sfax’s Raed Al Bawaji Hall.
The nationals were playing without star big man Somto Patrick Onoduenyi yesterday and they fell behind by as many as 30 points late on.
The loss put them in second place on the standings at the end of the six-nation round-robin stage, behind only Egypt, who won all five of their fixtures.
The Bahrainis had previously won against Algeria, hosts Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, and Morocco.
The timings for tomorrow’s title-decider and the preceding bronze medal clash have yet to be announced by the Arab Basketball Confederation and the Federation Tunisienne de Basketball.
In yesterday’s loss, Egypt finished the opening quarter strong to build a 24-13 cushion heading into the second.
But the Bahrainis fought back and turned the double-digit deficit to just three points, 33-36, at the half.
The Egyptians dominated the third period, however, erupting for 30 points while holding Bahrain to just 10 to build a commanding 66-43 advantage heading into the final frame.
The nationals never recovered, and were handed a losing end to the preliminaries.
Hassan Abdulkadir finished as Bahrain’s top performer with 24 points and 12 rebounds in just 18 minutes of work.
He was their only player in double figures, with Ali Khalil Redha contributing eight points, Mujtaba Mahmood Rayyan seven, and Mahdi Habib Baqer six in the setback.
Ahmed Oussama led Egypt with 23 points while teammate Youssuf Marwan scored 10.
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.
At the Qatari capital, they will also be vying for a berth in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, with the top three nations climbing the podium earning their places in the biennial continental event, to be played in Ahmedabad, India from Aug 13 to 23.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))