BASKETBALL – Bahrain head coach Slobodan Subotic praised the kingdom’s senior men’s basketball national squad for showing “character” and for “refusing to lose” in their stunning, come-from-behind 83-80 victory over the UAE on Friday night in the first round of pre-qualifying for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.
The Bahrainis roared back from a daunting nine-point deficit with less than five minutes remaining in the contest, played at Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai, the UAE.
They thus claimed their second win in as many outings to remain unbeaten so far in Group A of their qualification competition.
“Basketball is always a game of 40 minutes – you need to believe and to trust your players, and you need to have players with character,” Subotic said during his post-game Press conference. “Today, they showed it.”
“As I have said, I am new [with Bahrain’s national team] – I still don’t know very well my players and they don’t know me – but every day we are getting better.
“I am very proud again how they managed the end of the game – it was not easy to manage and to win, but, as I said, they have character. They refuse to lose.
“We were very calm in the last three minutes, and I think that the zone which we put in helped us a lot. It was a very good game for both teams tonight and I am happy for the win.”
In response to Subotic’s comments, Bahrain court general Ahmed Salman credited his side’s poise in their comeback to the Greek-Slovenian tactician setting an example.
“He just said that we were calm – usually, if the players are calm, that means the leaders are calm,” explained Salman, who scored 19 points and fired in four three-pointers in helping his team eke out the victory.
“Coach was calm, and in the second quarter after we scored five points, in the locker room we spoke basketball.
He told us exactly what we were supposed to do to beat their zone – Xs and Os – and we went in and did exactly what he told us, and this was the result.”
The crafty guard added about Subotic: “I’ve been coached by a lot of coaches, but this guy is one of the best who coached me.”
“I am not just saying that in front of him; he knows basketball.”
The Bahrainis’ triumph against the Emiratis followed their 106-62 rout of Oman in their opening contest last week.
Yesterday was a rest day in the pre-qualifiers, and the nationals return to the hardwood today when they face off with Nepal at 4pm.
They then complete their schedule in this round against Kuwait tomorrow at 7pm. Both 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 in this opening stage of pre-qualifying for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.
Each pool is being hosted at separate locations across the continent. Only 12 squads – the top three from each group – advance to round two, to be played in November and December later this year.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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