BASKETBALL – Bahrain's senior men’s basketball national team are set to compete in a tough Group E in the second round of pre-qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.
The Bahrainis are one of 12 sides that have been divided into two pools for the upcoming stage, to be played from November 23 to December 1 later this year at to-be-determined venues.
The field was confirmed following the completion of round one of pre-qualification on Monday.
The Bahrainis won all four of their games in Group A, held in Dubai, the UAE, to barge into this ensuing phase.
Joining them in Group E are the UAE and Kuwait, whom they played against in Dubai, as well as Palestine, Kazakhstan, and Sri Lanka.
Group F is composed of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, and Fiji.
From the opening phase of pre-qualifying, Palestine, Kazakhstan, and Sri Lanka advanced from Group B; Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia marched through from Group C, and Thailand, Mongolia, and Fiji made it out of Group D.
All teams will carry forward their head-to-head results from the previous stage into round two, and will only play against the teams they have yet to face.
At the end of the second round, the top four from each division will make it into the final qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029, where they will join the 16 nations that competed in the continental tournament’s previous edition, held last year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Those nations are 2025 champions Australia, China, Iran, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, the Philippines, Lebanon, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Guam, Qatar, Iraq, India, and Syria.
Together, they form a field of 24 senior men’s national teams, who will be vying for just 16 places in the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Greek-Slovenian head coach Slobodan Subotic was all praise for his players for their performances in Dubai.
He expressed his delight in being “on the same page” with the team, despite the limited time they have had together, and is looking forward to continuing on the same path moving forward.
“I have been with the team a month-and-a-half, we’ve made 23 or 24 practices together, and I think they showed something I have been asking for them from day one, which is defence,” Subotic said during his post-game Press conference following their 95-67 victory against Kuwait in their concluding assignment in the Emirates on Monday.
“Today we played against a very good team in Kuwait – they have history in basketball with a very good coach. They scored 67 points against us and my players took this game very seriously, like all games we play.”
“This makes me happy because it shows that they are professional – they have a target, and they are on the same page with me, which is very important.”
“I hope and I wish we will continue like this.”
Speaking at the same Presser, Bahrain’s star guard Mustafa Hussain added: “We are not thinking about [the second round] yet, we were just focused on this tournament. This was our first step, and inshaallah we are going to be in the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.”
Prior to their participation in the next round of pre-qualifying, Bahrain will first hit the hardwood in the men’s basketball tournament at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, which tips off on September 10.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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