BASKETBALL – Hangzhou from China were crowned champions last night of the Bahrain Summer Lite Quest 2026 3x3 basketball tournament, played at Sports City 26 in Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB).
Hangzhou secured the title after defeating Bahrain’s Seef 21-18 in the competition’s final.
With their triumph, Hangzhou punched their ticket to the Phoenix Challenger in the US, set for September 19 and 20 as part of this year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour.
The Chinese outfit hit the half-court in yesterday’s event with the quartet of Bahrainis Mohammed Ghazwan and Milos Supica, and Serbians Aleksandar Topalovic and Goran Vidovic.
Seef were composed of the Bahraini foursome of Austin Ajukwa, Isa Jasim, Elyas Younes, and Omran Albanna.
Both Hangzhou and Seef play on the 2026 circuit of the Fiba 3x3 World Tour, and they used their international experience and quality to dominate last night at EWB.
Hangzhou made it to the final after defeating Bahrain B 21-8 in the last four, while Seef were 21-16 winners against Bahrain A.
In the quarter-finals, Hangzhou routed Cedar Squad 21-6 and Seef overcame Askar 21-11, while Bahrain A defeated Amwaj 21-16 and Bahrain B beat Portlan from Saudi Arabia 12-7.
In the competition’s opening phase, Hangzhou won both their games in Pool A.
They first routed Amwaj 21-6 and then took down Askar 21-11.
Seef were in Pool C, which also included Bahrain B, Jokers, and Night Owls.
Seef first outplayed Jokers 21-5, then won 17-9 against Bahrain B before completing their schedule with a 21-9 triumph against Night Owls.
Pool B in the tournament comprised Bahrain A, Portlan, and Cedar Squad.
Following last night’s action, Bahrain Basketball Association vice-president Salman Hubail awarded Hangzhou their champions’ prize.
The Fiba 3x3 World Tour is the premier street basketball series featuring international tournaments of various levels held around the world.
Masters events are at the highest tier followed by Challengers – both of which are fed by qualifiers, which include Super Quest, Quest, and Lite Quest events.
With the completion of last night’s Bahrain Summer Lite Quest, the kingdom will next stage the Bahrain Summer Quest 2026 tomorrow, also at EWB.
It will act as a qualification competition for the Debrecen Masters in Hungary, set for August 29 and 30.
The two high-profile, Fiba-sanctioned events are part of a busy period for 3x3 basketball in Bahrain. Over the past few weeks, the BBA has also organised two rounds of the Bahrain Summer Tour 2026, won by Team ATTB and Seef, respectively.
They will now headline a strong field in the tour’s finale, scheduled for August 7 at EWB.
The winners of that event will book a spot in the Go Too! Group Aichi 2026 Challenger tournament in Japan, to be held on October 10 and 11.
It will act as a qualifier for the Manama Masters, which is to be held as part of the top-tier tournaments on the Fiba 3x3 World Tour 2026.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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