BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S under-23 women’s 3x3 basketball national team climbed the podium for third place yesterday in the fourth stop of the Asia West/Pacific conference in the Fiba 3x3 Youth Nations League 2026, currently being played in Singapore.
The kingdom’s squad, featuring the quartet of Bayan Salman, Ninel Merkotun, Polina Sviatskaya, and JaMya Robinson, split their two games in Pool A of the preliminary round – first losing to hosts Singapore but roaring back for a big win against Saudi Arabia.
The nationals claimed third place for the second successive stop – after finishing as runners-up in the opening two events – as they came away with another 70 points for their conference standing.
They dropped to third amongst the six women’s national teams but are tied with the home side on a total of 300 markers heading into the Asia West/Pacific’s last two stops today and tomorrow.
Also yesterday, Bahrain’s under-23 men’s 3x3 basketball national team lost both their fixtures in Pool A of their event to finish fifth amongst the six participating squads.
Hitting the half-court with Elyas Younes, Naser Alanzoor, Mohammed Alanzi, and Moshal Buhamood, the Bahrainis lost to both Singapore and Saudi.
They came away with 50 points for their conference rankings, where they remained fifth overall.
Action in Singapore continues today with the fifth and penultimate stop in the Asia West/Pacific conference of this year’s Fiba 3x3 Youth Nations League.
Teams are vying for points in each of the events as they continue their qualification bids for the Fiba 3x3 U23 World Cup, which is to be held in Hubei, China, from September 15 to 19.
In yesterday’s games, Bahrain’s women were handed a narrow 10-16 setback against Singapore.
Sviatskaya had six points to pace the nationals while Salman added three and Robinson had one.
In their next outing, the Bahrainis dominated in a 21-4 rout of Saudi.
Salman led the nationals with eight points while Sviatskaya had six, Merkotun four, and Robinson three.
It wasn’t enough, however, to push them into the women’s final, where Australia maintained their perfect record in the conference with a 21-11 triumph against Singapore.
On the distaff, Bahrain’s men lost their opener 12-17 against the hosts. Alanzoor and Alanzi had four points each, while Younes chipped in with three and Buhamood had one.
The Bahrainis were then edged by their Saudi counterparts 17-20 in a closely fought game, where Alanzoor finished with nine markers.
Buhamood contributed five while Alanzi had two and Younes one point. Australia took the men’s final 22-6 over the Saudis.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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