BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN have been slotted into a tough Group B for the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, taking place in Ahmedabad, India from August 13 to 23.
The Fiba regional office-Asia confirmed yesterday the groupings and schedule for the highly anticipated tournament.
Sixteen teams divided into groups of four will compete in the biennial competition’s 28th edition, beginning with the busy group phase that will run for a total of six days featuring four games a day.
The Bahrainis are joined in Group B by continental basketball giants Lebanon and New Zealand, as well as Syria.
Group A features defending champions Australia, Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, and Thailand. Group C is composed of China, Iran, Qatar, and Sri Lanka. Group D includes South Korea, Japan, India, and Kazakhstan.
Bahrain open their campaign against their Lebanese counterparts on August 13. They then play the Kiwis on August 15 before completing pool play against Syria on August 17.
The top teams in each group by the end of the preliminary stage will book a direct ticket to the quarter-finals. Teams finishing second and third in their pools, meanwhile, will compete in a play-off round to complete the teams in the elite eight. This play-in is scheduled on August 20.
The quarters will then be played the following day, with the winners of each advancing to the semi-finals set on August 22.
Aside from moving on, the four teams reaching the final four will qualify for the prestigious Fiba U19 Basketball World Cup 2027, which will be held in Pardubice, Czechia from June 26 to July 4 next year.
Classification rounds for fifth through eighth will also be held for this year’s competition, beginning on August 22, featuring the losing teams in the quarter-finals.
The gold medal contest is set for August 23, which will be preceded by the bronze medal game and final classification clashes.
Bahrain secured their place in this year’s Fiba U18 Asia Cup after being crowned champions of the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U18 Championship 2026, which came to a close Thursday night in Doha, Qatar. The Bahrainis won all four of their games in the tournament.
The Bahrainis returned to the kingdom yesterday and were received by Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) vice-president Nader Al Awadhi, BBA secretary general Abed Al Ansari, Bahrain Olympic Committee national sports medicine and rehabilitation centre director Dr Moayyed Al Alawi, and other officials.
Their GBA championship added to the title they won in the beginning of July in the 23rd Arab Youth Men’s Basketball Championship 2026, held in Sfax, Tunisia.
Bahrain head coach Salman Ramadhan’s squad will now have no time to rest as they gear up for their continental challenge.
The nationals are expected to field the same line-up in Ahmedabad as the one that took to the hardwood in Doha – or at least have the same core.
Bahrain’s players that secured their GBA crown included twin towers Somto Patrick Onoduenyi and Hasan Abdulkadir, court general Mahdi Habib Baqer, Mujtaba Mahmood Rayyan, Ali Hussain Mohammed, Mohammed Mahmood, Mohammed Adel Abdulla, Ali Khalil Redha, Hussain Fuad Sharaf, Ali Sadeq Al Haddad, Yousif Yaqoob Meshaei, and Hussain Ahmed Abdulla.
Onoduenyi was the Arab championship’s Most Valuable Player, and, along with Abdulkadir, will need to come up big for Bahrain once again in their Fiba U18 Asia Cup bid.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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