BASKETBALL – ARAB and Gulf champions Bahrain are back in action today in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, India.
After securing an impressive upset against continental powerhouses Lebanon in their opening assignment on Thursday, the kingdom’s youth men’s basketball national team return to the hardwood at Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium against another formidable opponent in New Zealand.
The game, which is their second Group B fixture, is scheduled for a 2pm start, Bahrain time.
The Kiwis were also triumphant in the other first clash, outclassing Syria 67-58.
A win for the Bahrainis today would ensure they advance past the preliminaries with one outing to go – against Syria on Monday at 5pm, Bahrain time.
Bahrain are one of 16 youth men’s national teams in the competition, which also acts as a qualifier for the Fiba U19 Basketball World Cup 2027, with the top four booking their berths to the worlds.
Group A features Australia, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand; Group C is composed of China, Iran, Qatar, and Sri Lanka; and 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.
The kingdom’s squad, coached by veteran Bahraini tactician Salman Ramadhan, 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.
&uuid=(email))