BASKETBALL – Back-to-back Arab youth basketball champions Bahrain are set to play four tough games in six days as they shift their focus to capturing a Gulf title and securing a place in the continent’s premier under-18 basketball tournament.
The kingdom’s youth men’s basketball national team returned to the kingdom yesterday from Sfax, Tunisia, where they retained their crown in the 23rd Arab Youth Men’s Basketball Championship 2026.
The competition was part of their preparations for the upcoming Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U18 Championship 2026, set to be played from July 17 to 22 in Doha, Qatar.
Organisers have released the schedule of games for the league-type competition, which is set to feature five of the six GCC nations, with only the UAE not taking part.
Bahrain are set to open their campaign against Saudi Arabia on day one before taking on Kuwait the following evening.
They then face Oman on July 19, and then have a two-day break.
They complete their schedule on the concluding day of action against hosts Qatar – a game that is expected to help decide the title.
Aside from their ambitions of being crowned GBA champions at the Qatari capital, the Bahrainis will also be vying for a berth in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026.
The top three nations climbing the podium will earn their places in the biennial Fiba Asia event, which is to be played in Ahmedabad, India, from August 13 to 23.
The kingdom’s squad were given a hero’s welcome yesterday upon their return from Sfax.
They were received at Bahrain International Airport by Bahrain Olympic Committee sports project management director Lounes Madene, Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) vice-president Nader Al Awadhi, BBA secretary general Abed Al Ansari, and BBA board member and treasurer Mohamed Abdulsamad.
The nationals, coached by veteran Bahraini tactician Salman Ramadhan, are expected to compete in the GBA tournament with a similar roster of players, to be led by star big man Somto Patrick Onoduenyi, who was named the Arab under-18 championship’s Most Valuable Player, and his frontcourt partner Hassan Abdulkadir – forming Bahrain’s dominant twin towers.
Bahrain were bronze-medallists from the previous GBA U18 qualification event in 2024, but missed out on a place in the Asian competition.
This year’s Fiba U18 Asia Cup will feature 16 countries from across the continent.
The field will be divided into four groups of four for the preliminary round, from which the top three teams in each pool will advance to the knockout stage.
Bahrain will be looking to claim their place in the tournament for the seventh time – with their last appearance in the 2018 edition held in Thailand.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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