BASKETBALL – Bahrain’s senior men’s basketball national team will be taking part in a three-nation friendly tournament next week alongside Saudi Arabia and hosts Qatar.
The three-day event is being organised by the Qatar Basketball Federation in Doha from August 20 to 22.
It will be part of the Bahrainis’ preparations for the first round of pre-qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.
The nationals will be hitting the hardwood twice in the tune-up event. They will first face off with the home side Qataris on August 20 before taking on their counterparts from Saudi the following evening. Qatar and Saudi then clash in the tournament finale on August 22.
All three contests are scheduled for 7pm tip-offs.
Bahrain’s senior men squad have stepped up their training programme under newly signed Greek-Slovenian head coach Slobodan Subotic ahead of their upcoming pre-qualification contests, which are to be held in Dubai, the UAE, from August 24 to September 1.
They are practising at the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex with a majority of the Subotic’s 18 call-ups already with the team.
The current roster includes Mustafa Hussain, Ahmed Salman, Mohammed Buallay, Ahmed Bindayneh, Mohammed Juma’a, Ali Jaber, Mahmood Abbas Isa, Ali Hussain, Ahmed Alderazi, Emran Ashkanani, Abdulqader Thani, Hamad Faisal, Mohammed Ghazi, Ali Mohsen, Hassan Fahad, Nader Shaker, Muzamil Ameer Hamoda, and JaKarr Sampson.
It is expected to be trimmed to a final list for both the friendly tournament in Doha and for pre-qualifying in Dubai.
The first stage of pre-qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029 features 18 nations.
They have been split into four groups that are to be held at different venues across the continent.
The nationals are in Group A alongside Oman, Nepal, Kuwait, and the UAE.
Group B is to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and it features Palestine, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, and the host Kazakhs. Group C, set for Seremban, Malaysia, includes Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the host Malaysians; while Group D, to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, features Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji, and the host Mongolians.
Bahrain begin their pre-qualification campaign on August 27 against their Omani counterparts and then take on the Emiratis the following day.
A rest day for all teams will then be held on August 29, after which the Bahrainis will face Nepal on August 30.
They conclude this round against Kuwait on August 31.
The top three countries from each pre-qualification group will move on to the second round of pre-qualifiers, to be played at the end of the year.
Aside from their Dubai foray, Bahrain are also gearing up to compete in the men’s basketball tournament at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan next month.
The kingdom’s squad are one of 12 national teams in the highly anticipated five-on-five tournament, which will be one of the sports that will be getting underway before the official start of this year’s Asiad on September 19.
Set to be held from September 10 to 20, the Bahrainis will be facing off with defending champions the Philippines, fellow-continental powerhouses China, as well as with Kazakhstan in Group C of the preliminary phase.
Group A features Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, while Group B includes Iran, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, and Qatar.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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