BASKETBALL – The Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U18 Championship 2026, which was originally scheduled to tip off on Friday in Doha, Qatar, has been postponed.
This was announced last night by the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF).
The QBF said in a statement that the tournament has been put off “until further notice”, without giving an official reason, although it is likely due to the regional situation.
The league-type competition was set to feature five of the six GCC nations, with only the UAE not taking part.
Aside from vying for the GBA under-18 crown, the participating squads would have also been battling for one of three qualifying berths to the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, which is to be played in Ahmedabad, India from August 13 to 23.
Bahrain were set to enter the GBA championship as back-to-back Arab under-18 champions.
They had recently returned to the kingdom from Sfax, Tunisia, where they retained their crown in the 23rd Arab Youth Men’s Basketball Championship 2026.
The nationals, coached by veteran Bahraini tactician Salman Ramadhan, were bronze-medallists in the previous GBA under-18 event in 2024, but missed out on a place in that year’s Fiba U18 Asia Cup.
This year’s continental championship will feature 16 countries.
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