BASKETBALL – Bahrain romped past Oman 106-62 yesterday to make a rousing start to their first-round campaign in pre-qualifying for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.
The kingdom’s senior men’s basketball national team were in a class of their own in the Group A affair, played at Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai, the UAE.
They led from the opening tip and enjoyed gaps as big as their final winning margin of 44 points.
Superstar guard Mustafa Hussain scored 21 points to spearhead the nationals, including three makes from beyond the arc.
Bahrain’s Greek-Slovenian head coach Slobodan Subotic later praised his squad for their attitude and teamwork in the contest, where they dished out an incredible 27 assists leading to their 39 field goals.
“My players, from the beginning, they took this game seriously,” Subotic said during his post-game Press conference.
“We came out to play our game.”
“I am very happy to see them play as a team – 27 assists, I think this is a record. I saw our team does not have any selfish players inside, and for sure this is a big satisfaction for me.”
“I have been with them for more than a month, and as a new coach with a new philosophy, it is not so easy for the players, but they caught things immediately and we are on the same page.”
“When you practise and see our players’ attitude, they do not think they are not ready. Whoever is our opponent, for us, our goal is to always play our game and to win.”
“I am sure we will fight every single game in every single competition.”
Veteran guard Ahmed Alderazi added: “As coach said, we played well as a team, and we have more to give.”
“We will keep this level for the upcoming games.”
Bahrain return to the hardwood this evening when they take on the host Emiratis at 6pm for the second of their four fixtures in Dubai.
A rest day for all teams will then be held tomorrow, after which the Bahrainis will face Nepal on Sunday at 4pm.
They complete their schedule in this round against Kuwait on Monday at 7pm. All times are Bahrain.
The Bahrainis are one of 18 national teams – 17 from Asia along with Fiji from Oceania – that have been divided into four groups being hosted at separate locations in the pre-qualifiers’ first round.
Only 12 squads – the top three from each group – will advance to round two, to be played in November and December later this year.
The top four nations from each second-round group will then make it to the Fiba Asia Cup 2029 qualifiers, joining the 16 teams that played in the previous edition of the Fiba Asia Cup in 2025, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In their win yesterday against Oman, Bahrain scored the game’s first seven points before powering ahead 14-4 for their first double-digit cushion.
They closed the first quarter up 24-13, which they stretched to 56-31 at the break with a resounding 32-point effort in the second period.
In the second half, the nationals never let up.
They led 80-46 after three, and continued to fire on all cylinders until the final buzzer.
Hussain led four Bahrain players in double figures.
JaKarr Sampson chipped in with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Alderazi and Ahmed Bindayneh finished with 13 points apiece.
Sampson and Alderazi both also had three triples in the game.
Hadid Bait Bakhir paced Oman with 21 markers, while Abdulrahman Al Shaaibi scored 16.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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