U18 team named for Arab youth championship

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain have announced their 14-man squad for the national Under-18 team ahead of the Arab Youth Basketball Championship, which will take place in Sfax, Tunisia from June 27 to July 6.

The tournament will bring together six Arab nations, including Bahrain, Egypt, hosts Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Libya.

The Bahraini squad includes Somto Patrick Onoduenyi, Mohammad Farhan, Yousif Al Samahiji, Mohammed Adel, Mujtaba Rayyan, Ali Al Haddad, Ali Ferdousi, Hassan Abdulqader, Ali Khalil, Mahdi Habib, Hussain Fuad, Jock James, Hussain Madan, and Ali Aymen.

They will open their campaign against Algeria next Saturday, before facing hosts Tunisia on Sunday and Libya on Monday in their third group match. After a rest day for all teams on Tuesday, Bahrain resume action on Wednesday against Morocco, before concluding their preliminary round on Thursday against Egypt.

The Arab Championship forms part of Bahrain's wider preparations for the Gulf Basketball Association U18 Championship, scheduled to be held in Doha from July 17 to 22.

That tournament will act as a qualifier for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, India from August 13 to 23, with the top three teams earning qualification to the 16-team continental event.

The national youth team will be targeting a return to the Asian stage for the first time since 2018. The competition in India also serves as a pathway to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027 in Pardubice, Czechia, where the top four Asian teams will secure qualification.

The team are currently training at the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Arena under head coach Salman Ramadhan as they step up preparations for the busy summer schedule.