Bahrain coach sets sights on Asian Cup

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Salman Ramadan said Bahrain’s Arab under-18 basketball title would count for little unless his side backs it up at next month’s Gulf Championship in Qatar, where a place at the Asian Cup will be at stake.

The Bahrain youth coach, speaking after his team returned home with the Arab crown from Tunisia, said the target was clear.

‘Our ambition is higher,’ Ramadan said. ‘Bahrain’s aim is to reach the top level. Anything else would be failure.’

Ramadan thanked the Bahrain Basketball Association for giving him the chance to lead the team, but said the title was the result of work that had begun before his tenure.

‘This was not our work alone,’ he said. ‘We won this title because of those who came before us. They laid the foundation, we are building on it, and those who come after us will carry on the path.’

He said the Gulf Championship would be tougher, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar among the sides Bahrain expect to face, but added that his players had shown in Tunisia they were ready to fight for more.

‘The boys gave more than 100 pc in Tunisia, especially given the circumstances,’ he said. ‘They fought for every inch in defence and made many sacrifices for Bahrain.’

Ramadan also thanked his technical and administrative staff, naming Talal Ahmed, the fitness coach, administrator Ahmed Abdulrahman and the head of delegation for their part in the title run.

Ramadan said reaching the Asian Cup remained a key aim, but warned that the level would be far higher, with teams such as Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and the Philippines among the leading sides.

‘Australia and New Zealand have many players in American universities, China have height, Japan have speed, and the Philippines are strong,’ he said.

He added that Bahrain’s long-term aim was to keep rising, with the dream of reaching the Basketball World Cup.