BASKETBALL – Bahrain get their campaign underway today in the highly anticipated Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, India.
The kingdom’s youth men’s national basketball team, who are reigning Arab and Gulf champions in their age group, take on continental powerhouses Lebanon at Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium.
The Group B contest is scheduled for a 5pm tip-off, Bahrain time.
The Bahrainis completed their preparations for the preliminary round last night under the supervision of head coach Salman Ramadhan, and are all set for the 16-team event, in which they are heavy underdogs.
The championship also acts as a qualifier for the Fiba U19 Basketball World Cup 2027, with the top four booking their berths.
The worlds will be held in Pardubice, Czechia from June 26 to July 4 next year.
The Bahrainis have a 12-player roster in Ahmedabad, spearheaded by twin towers Somto Patrick Onoduenyi and Hasan Abdulkadir, court general Mahdi Habib Baqer, and versatile forward Mujtaba Mahmood Rayyan.
The rest of the team includes Ali Hussain Mohammed, Hussain Fuad Sharaf, Mohammed Mahmood Farhan, Ali Ayman, Mohammed Adel Abdulla, Ali Khalil Redha, Yousif Yaqoob Meshaei, and Divine Tochukwu Abochi.
Bahrain and Lebanon are joined in their group by New Zealand and Syria.
Group A features defending champions Australia, Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Group C is composed of China, Iran, Qatar, and Sri Lanka, while Group D includes South Korea, Japan, India, and Kazakhstan.
In other fixtures today at the same venue, Australia play Thailand at 8am, Chinese Taipei battle the Philippines at 11am, and New Zealand lock horns with Syria at 2pm. All times are Bahrain.
Following their assignment today, the Bahrainis play the Kiwis on Saturday at 2pm before completing pool play against Syria on Monday next week at 5pm, both also Bahrain time.
The top teams in each of the four groups after a single round-robin book a direct ticket to the quarter-finals, while the teams finishing second and third in each pool will compete in a play-off round on Thursday next week to complete the elite eight, scheduled for the following day.
The semis then take place on August 22, setting the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on August 23. Classification clashes will also be held on the tournament’s last two days.
&uuid=(email))