BASKETBALL – Bahrain have called up 18 players, headlined by the kingdom’s top basketball stars, to the preliminary squad for senior men’s national team training ahead of their major competitions in the coming months.
Spearheading the roster, announced by the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA), will be Bahrain’s dynamic duo of Mustafa Hussain and Muzamil Ameer Hamoda.
They will be joined by national team mainstays Ahmed Salman, Mohammed Buallay, Ahmed Bindayneh, Mohammed Juma’a, Ali Jaber, Mahmood Abbas Isa, Ali Hussain, and Ahmed Alderazi, along with up-and-coming youngsters Emran Ashkanani, Abdulqader Thani, Hamad Faisal, Mohammed Ghazi, Ali Mohsen, Hassan Fahad, and Nader Shaker.
Bahrain are also boosted by the return of JaKarr Sampson to national team duty, completing the kingdom’s strong line-up.
The nationals will first be gearing up to compete in the opening round of pre-qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029, to be held in Dubai, the UAE, from August 24 to September 1.
The nationals are also scheduled to compete in the men’s basketball tournament at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4; and then, if qualified, the second round of Fiba Asia Cup 2029 pre-qualifiers, scheduled from November 23 to December 1 at a yet-to-be-determined host venue.
The Bahrainis are to be guided by newly signed Greek-Slovenian head coach Slobodan Subotic, whose appointment was announced by the BBA at the beginning of this month.
Subotic is taking over for the departed Georgios Vovoras, who left his post in May less than a year after his signing.
Subotic is a former shooting guard who has more than 30 years’ experience as a coach, having previously taken the helm of the national teams of Slovenia and Lebanon, as well as of leading clubs in both countries, in addition to teams in Greece, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Tunisia, and Cyprus.
In the upcoming first round of pre-qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029, the Bahrainis are part of an 18-nation field that has been divided into four groups.
The nationals are in Group A alongside Oman, Nepal, Kuwait, and their division hosts the UAE.
Bahrain begin their qualification campaign in Dubai on August 27 against their Omani counterparts, and then take on the Emiratis the following day.
A rest day for all teams will be held on August 29, after which the Bahrainis will face Nepal on August 30. They conclude this round against Kuwait on August 31.
Group B is to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and it features Palestine, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, and the host Kazakhs.
Group C, set for Seremban, Malaysia, includes Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the host Malaysians; while Group D, to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, features Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji, and the host Mongolians.
The top three from each group will move on to the second round of pre-qualifiers, to be played at the end of the year.
Their Dubai foray will be the first action for the kingdom’s senior men’s national team in 2026.
They were previously set to compete in the fourth GCC Games last May, but the men’s basketball tournament was eventually cancelled.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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