Youth basketball team set for rescheduled Gulf qualifiers

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain's youth men's national basketball team will begin their quest for qualification to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup later this week after the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) U18 Championship was rescheduled.

The regional qualifying tournament will now be held from July 25 to 30 after being postponed from its original dates of July 17 to 22. Qatar will host the five-team competition, which also features Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.

The tournament serves as the Gulf qualifying event for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, with three places available at the continental finals, scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad, India, from August 13 to 23.

Bahrain head into the competition full of confidence after successfully defending their title at the Arab Youth Men's Basketball Championship earlier this month in Tunisia.

Coached by veteran tactician Salman Ramadhan, the national team is expected to field a squad similar to the one that lifted the Arab crown, spearheaded by tournament Most Valuable Player Somto Patrick Onoduenyi and fellow standout Hassan Abdulkadir.

The Bahrainis continued their preparations with training sessions at the Bahrain Basketball Association Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex ahead of their departure.

The tournament will be played in a single round-robin format at the Al Gharafa Sports Club Arena in Al Rayyan, with Bahrain opening their campaign against Saudi Arabia at 6pm, before facing Kuwait at 4pm, Oman at 4pm and hosts Qatar at 6pm.

Bahrain will also be aiming to improve on their bronze-medal finish at the previous Gulf qualifying event in 2024, when they narrowly missed out on a place at the Asian Championship.

A return to the continental stage would mark Bahrain's first appearance at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup since the 2018 edition in Thailand.