BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S youth men’s basketball national team are set to get into action later this weekend in the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U18 Championship 2026, following the announcement of the tournament’s new dates.
The five-nation regional competition was originally scheduled to get underway last weekend in Doha, Qatar, but was postponed.
The Qatar Basketball Federation has announced that the event will now take place from this Saturday to July 30, with games being played at Al Gharafa Sports Club Arena in the district of Al Rayyan.
The Bahrainis head into the league-type competition as back-to-back Arab youth basketball champions, having recently retained their crown in the 23rd Arab Youth Men’s Basketball Championship 2026, held in Sfax, Tunisia.
Five of the six GCC nations will be hitting the hardwood at the Qatari capital, with only the UAE not participating.
Aside from vying for GBA glory, the participating squads are also set to battle for one of three qualifying berths to the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, to be played in Ahmedabad, India from August 13 to 23.
The nationals are scheduled to get their GBA title bid underway on opening night against Saudi at 6pm, before taking on Kuwait the following evening at 4pm.
They then play Oman on Monday next week, also at 4pm, for the third game in as many days, before completing their schedule against the host Qataris on the championship’s concluding day at 6pm. All times are Bahrain.
The Bahrainis, coached by veteran tactician Salman Ramadhan, are expected to field a similar roster in Doha as the one that clinched the Arab title in Sfax.
They are to be led by star big man Somto Patrick Onoduenyi, who was named the Arab championship’s Most Valuable Player, and his frontcourt partner Hassan Abdulkadir – forming Bahrain’s dominant twin towers.
Under Ramadhan’s supervision, the kingdom’s squad continued their preparations for the GBA tiff with practices at the Bahrain Basketball Association Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex.
Bahrain were bronze-medallists from the previous GBA under-18 qualification event held in 2024, but missed out on a place in that year’s 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 Fiba Asia tournament for the seventh time – with their last appearance in the 2018 edition held in Thailand.
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