BASKETBALL – Bahrain’s senior men’s basketball national team will be holding a training camp in the US next month as part of the final lead-up to their participation in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQT) in July.
The Bahrainis are aiming to be amongst global basketball’s elite and secure an historic berth in the Paris Olympics 2024. They are taking part in an OQT for the first time ever. Their training programme ahead of their on-court battles was approved by the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) national teams committee, headed by Mohammed Al Ajmi, the BBA announced yesterday.
Bahrain are set to begin their preparations early next month. They are currently still without a head coach, following the recent departure of Spanish tactician Ricard Casas, a BBA official confirmed.
Bahrain are one of 24 nations taking part in four separate OQTs, which are to be hosted at different locations from July 2 to 7. The Bahrainis’ OQT will held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and they have been drawn in Group B for that competition along with Italy and the hosts. Group A features Mexico, Ivory Coast and Lithuania.
The nationals begin their campaign against Italy on July 2, and then they take on Puerto Rico the following day. They need to finish amongst the top two in their group to advance to the semi-finals on July 6, while the final will be held on July 7.
The three other OQTs are to be held in Spain, Latvia and Greece. The winners of each OQT will qualify for this summer’s Paris Olympic Games, where they will join host nation France, Germany, Serbia, Japan, Australia, Canada, the US, and South Sudan in a 12-team line-up in the men’s basketball tournament.
Group A in the Spain OQT includes Lebanon, Angola and the host Spaniards, while Group B is composed of Finland, Poland and the Bahamas. The Latvia OQT features Georgia, the Philippines, and hosts Latvia in Group A, while Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro are in Group B. In Greece, Group A features Slovenia, New Zealand and Croatia, while Group B includes Egypt, hosts Greece and the Dominican Republic.
Bahrain secured their maiden berth in the FIBA OQTs after sweeping their five games en route to winning their FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament held in August of last year in Damascus, Syria.
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