BASKETBALL – Manama Club are set to fly the kingdom’s flag in the 38th Arab Basketball Championship for Men’s Clubs, which tips off today in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Arab Basketball Confederation (ABC) tournament features 12 of the top basketball clubs from across the region.
Manama are the lone Bahraini side taking part and they are in Group A of the preliminary round.
They are set to compete alongside Al Rayyan of Qatar, Al Seem of Oman, Al Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo from Syria, and Lebanese outfits Sagesse and Club Centrale Al Markaziyyah Jounieh.
Group B is composed of Al Arabi of Qatar, Al Sulaibikhat of Kuwait, Shaab Hadramaut from Yemen, Homs Al Fidaa of Syria, and home sides Beirut and Hoops.
Manama have already arrived at Lebanon’s capital and have begun their final preparations for their tournament campaign, which they begin tomorrow against Sagesse at 9.30pm.
The kingdom’s representatives will then face Rayyan on Sunday at 7pm before taking on Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo on Tuesday next week at 2pm.
Manama lock horns with Seeb for their penultimate fixture of this stage on Wednesday at 7pm, before completing the preliminaries next Friday against Centrale Markaziyyah at 4.30pm.
All times are Bahrain. Four games are scheduled to be played today on the opening day of the championship, but Manama have a bye. Shaab Hadramaut face Sulaibikhat at 2pm followed by Homs going up against Beirut at 4.30pm.
Arabi then play Hoops at 7.30pm before Rayyan take on Centrale Markaziyyah at 9.30pm, all Bahrain time.
At the end of a single round-robin, the top four teams from each division move on to the quarter-finals.
Manama, coached by veteran Bahraini tactician Salman Ramadhan, have a young but talented roster in the tournament, to be spearheaded by senior men’s national team court general Ahmed Salman.
Amongst the team’s other top players are Emran Ashkanani, Mohammed Ghazi, Elyas Younes, and Mahdi Ali Khalifa, to name a few.
They suffered a major blow prior to the tournament after top Bahrain international stars and always-dependable wings Ali Jaber and Mohammed Buallay both suffered injuries that will keep them sidelined for a lengthy period.
The makeup of the team’s final roster for the championship is still unknown.
Manama had earlier this week made a winning start to their campaign in the 2026-27 Zain Bahrain Basketball League, outclassing their counterparts from Sitra 84-67.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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