BASKETBALL – Bahrain have named a reinforced 12-player line-up that will be hitting the hardwood in the men’s five-on-five basketball tournament at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan.
The Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) announced yesterday the senior men’s national team that will be flying the kingdom’s flag amongst the continent’s basketball juggernauts starting later this week.
Nine members of the squad were part of the Bahrainis’ roster that swept through their Group A campaign in the first round of pre-qualifying for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029, which concluded last week in Dubai, the UAE. They include Mustafa Hussain, Ahmed Salman, Ahmed Alderazi, Ahmed Bindayneh, Ali Hussain, Ali Jaber, Mohammed Juma’a, Mohammed Buallay, and JaKarr Sampson.
Three players have been added to bolster Bahrain’s bid and are expected to make a major impact with the team, namely big men Uros Ilic and Elijah Thomas and high-scoring guard-forward Austin Ajukwa.
The Bahrainis are coached by Greek-Slovenian tactician Slobodan Subotic, who resumed their Asian Games preparations over the weekend at the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex following their return from the Emirates.
According to a BBA official, they are scheduled to travel to Japan this evening via Dubai.
The men’s five-on-five basketball tournament at this year’s Asiad is scheduled to tip off on Thursday later this week.
The Bahrainis are in Pool C for the preliminary round of the 12-nation competition, which will be held at the 15,000-capacity Aichi International Arena.
They are set to play alongside defending Asian Games champions the Philippines, powerhouses China, and Kazakhstan.
Pool A is composed of hosts Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia; while Pool B features Iran, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, and Qatar.
Bahrain begin their tournament schedule on Friday against the Philippines at 1pm. They then take on China on Saturday at 10am, before facing Kazakhstan on September 14 at 4pm.
All times are Bahrain.
Following a single round-robin, the top two from each of the three pools plus the two best second-placers will advance to the quarter-finals, scheduled for September 16.
The semi-finals will then take place on September 18, setting the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on September 20.
Bahrain’s senior men’s cagers are the latest athletes confirmed by the BOC for the multi-sport Olympic Council for Asia (OCA) spectacle.
They join their countrymen who are already pencilled in for judo, cycling, shooting, wrestling, taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, badminton, esports, and athletics.
The 20th Asian Games are scheduled for September 19 to October 4, with basketball amongst a number of sports that will be starting earlier.
More than 11,000 athletes from the OCA’s 45 member nations, both men and women, will be vying for the podium in 469 medal events across 43 sports.
Along with the senior men’s basketball national team, Bahrain’s other medal hopefuls revealed by the BOC in other sports are Said Sadrudinov, Askerbii Gerbekov, Ruslan Poltoratskii, Mukhamed Aloev, Gadzhidavud Gasanov, Israpil Sagaipov, and Sukhrob Boqiev in men’s judo; Ahmed Madan and Ahmed Naser in men’s cycling; Maryam Hassani, Maryam Alasam, Maryam Sulaiti, Marwa Bu Araki, Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Tammar Alwatt, and Saeed Hassan in shooting; reigning Olympic champion and ex-world champion Akhmed Tazhudinov and Alibeg Alibego in men’s wrestling; Fatema Sadeq Kalawadh and Ola Abdulaziz Aldoseri in women’s taekwondo; Khalid Faraj and Abdulla Alshaikh in men’s jiu-jitsu; Adnan Ebrahim in men’s badminton; and Mohamed Hujairi, Fadhel Abdulla Taher, Hassan Khalil Ebrahim, Hussam Rashed Al Ansari, Mohammed Abdulnabi Darbas, and Yousef Abdulaziz Bahram in esports.
Reigning Olympic champion and former world champion Winfred Yavi, meanwhile, will spearhead a full-strength, 34-member athletics team, who are expected to be amongst the kingdom’s best bets for the podium.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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