Bahrain lose to Egypt before final rematch

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s under-18 basketball team suffered their first defeat of the Arab Championship yesterday, losing 88-60 to Egypt in their final group match, but will face the same side again in Saturday’s final.

The young national side had already booked their place in the title match after beating Morocco 73-46 on Wednesday, their fourth straight win in the tournament in Tunisia.

Despite the loss to Egypt, Bahrain remain in the race for the title after a strong group-stage run that included wins over Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco.

Bahrain opened their campaign with a 60-51 win over Algeria before beating hosts Tunisia 78-66.

They then defeated Libya 73-58 and Morocco 73-46 to seal their place in the final before yesterday's closing group match against Egypt.

The result means Bahrain and Egypt will meet again after tomorrow in the championship final, with the national team seeking to turn around yesterday's defeat and end the tournament with the title.

The Arab under-18 championship is being played in a single round-robin format, with the six teams facing each other once.

The top two sides advance to the final, while the third- and fourth-placed teams meet in the third-place play-off.