BASKETBALL – Bahrain's senior men’s 3x3 basketball national team barged into the knockout stages last night of the second Algiers Lite Quest in Algeria.
The kingdom’s squad – composed of Bogdan Dragovic, Austin Ajukwa, Uros Ilic, and Elyas Younes – came away with a hard-earned 21-15 victory against Tunisia Two to complete their Pool C preliminary round campaign with two wins from as many games.
The nationals had earlier defeated FASU National Team of Algeria in their opening assignment, played Thursday night.
The Bahrainis pulled away late against the Tunisians to come away with their triumph.
Ilic buried a two-pointer for a 16-10 advantage, but their rivals stayed within striking distance and battled back to within 14-17.
But Dragovic fired in his own basket from beyond the arc to make it 19-14, and then Ajukwa scored in the paint off a Dragovic assist while getting fouled.
He later made the second of his two ensuing free-throws to seal the result and reach the contest’s 21-point target.
Bahrain were one of 12 teams in the preliminaries in Algiers.
Pool A featured the Cameroon national team, Tunisia One, and the under-21 Algerian national team.
Pool B comprised Algerian outfits Bechar and DZ Show along with the Comoros national team, while Pool D included the Egyptian national team, and Algerian squads Team LABB and Team SS Annaba.
Along with the tournament title, the Bahrainis are also hoping to secure their place in a bigger 3x3 tournament, as the Algiers Lite Quest acts as a qualifier for the Mataro Challenger 2026, to be held in Spain on September 26 and 27, part of this year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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