BASKETBALL – Bahrain’s youth men’s basketball national team have stepped up their preparations for the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026, with only a week remaining before the 16-nation tournament tips off in Ahmedabad, India next Thursday.
The kingdom’s squad, who are reigning Arab and Gulf champions in their age group, have been practising intensively at Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex, under the supervision of head coach Salman Ramadhan and his technical staff.
They are scheduled to depart for India on Saturday, a BBA official told the GDN last night.
The Bahrainis are set to play in Group B in the championship’s preliminary round alongside 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 the first day of action on Thursday.
They then play the Kiwis on August 15 before completing pool play against Syria on August 17.
The top teams in each group after a single round-robin 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.
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.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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