National U18 side beat Syria to seal Asia Cup play-off spot

TDT | Manama

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The national Under-18 side produced a second-half-powered rout of Syria yesterday, turning a one-point lead into a 92-68 win to take second place in Group B and reach the FIBA Under-18 Asia Cup quarter-final play-offs in India.

The towering 16-year-old Somto Patrick Onoduenyi drove the win, scoring 26 points, pulling down 14 rebounds and blocking five shots in a dominant 38-minute display. He also had four assists and two steals.

Hassan Abdulkadir struck 21 points and finished with a game-high efficiency rating of 37, while Mujtaba Mahmood added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Yet the Bahrain side had to fight its way through a wild first half.

It burst out to a 29-15 lead in the opening quarter, only for Syria to hit straight back. A 24-11 Syrian run in the second left the national side clinging to a 40-39 lead at the break.

Then came the breakaway.

Bahrain won the third quarter 29-17 and kept their foot down in the fourth, taking it 23-12. Syria scored only 29 points across the whole second half as Bahrain piled on 52.

Ali Husain chipped in 10 points and handed out five assists, the most for Bahrain, while Mahdi Habib had four steals.

The trio of Onoduenyi, Abdulkadir and Mujtaba Mahmood accounted for 64 of Bahrain's 92 points as the team claimed its second win from three group games.

Bahrain had beaten Lebanon 74-68 in their first match before suffering an 86-42 loss to New Zealand. New Zealand went on to top Group B with three wins from three.

Second place sends Bahrain into a quarter-final play-off against Chinese Taipei, who finished third in Group A. The sides meet on Thursday, August 20, with a place in the last eight at stake.

The Under-18 Asia Cup is being played in Ahmedabad from August 13 to 23.