BASKETBALL – Arab and Gulf champions Bahrain made a rousing start last night in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, India.
The kingdom’s youth men’s basketball national team upset continental powerhouses Lebanon 74-68 at Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in their opening Group B contest.
The Bahrainis led the entire game and powered ahead by as many as 21 points midway through the fourth quarter.
They then staved off a late Lebanese surge where they battled back to within five with only seconds left on the clock.
Big man Hassan Abdulkadir and fearless court general Mahdi Habib Baqer scored 19 points apiece to spearhead Bahrain.
Abdulkadir also took down 14 rebounds while registering four steals and three blocks in a fine, all-around effort.
Baqer dished out eight assists as he brilliantly orchestrated the team’s offence.
The Bahrainis have a rest day today before returning to the hardwood tomorrow, when they will take on another Asian basketball giant in New Zealand at 2pm, Bahrain time.
The Kiwis were also triumphant in the other Group B clash yesterday on the Fiba U18 Asia Cup’s opening day.
They outclassed Syria 67-58.
In other fixtures, defending champions Australia thrashed Thailand 102-32 while the Philippines edged past Chinese Taipei 89-88, both in Group A.
The championship, which features 16 teams in the preliminary round, also acts as a qualifier for the Fiba U19 Basketball World Cup 2027, with the top four booking their berths to the worlds.
Group C is composed of China, Iran, Qatar, and Sri Lanka, while Group D includes South Korea, Japan, India, and Kazakhstan.
The top teams in each of the four groups after a single round-robin secure 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.
In Bahrain’s win last night, a sensational first quarter effort saw them double their opponents’ output and build a 22-11 lead.
They maintained their double-digit cushion for much of the second period and headed into the interval up 37-25.
Lebanon then began to chip away at their deficit after the re-start and got back to within six, 32-38, but the Bahrainis replied with nine unanswered points – four from star forward Somto Patrick Onoduenyi – to go back ahead by 15, 47-32.
Versatile wing Mujtaba Mahmood Rayyan later buried a three-pointer right before the quarter buzzer to give the nationals a 58-43 advantage with only the final frame to play.
There, Bahrain stayed well in control and a pair of Abdulkadir free-throws gave them their biggest lead of 21, 68-47, with just over five minutes left.
Lebanon put up one last fight, outscoring the Bahrainis 21-6 the rest of the way, but the nationals had done enough to secure the victory.
Abdulkadir and Baqer led five of the kingdom’s players in double figures.
Onoduenyi was also dominant in the paint with 14 points and 18 rebounds, while Rayyan and Mohamed Adel Abdulla scored 10 points apiece, firing in four triples between them.
Johnny Sawma paced the Lebanese with 27 points, while Jeffry Khairallah added 14 in the loss.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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