Century show as Bahrain sweep Nepal aside
Bahrain powered to their third successive victory in the first round of pre-qualifying for the FIBA Asia Cup 2029 after brushing aside Nepal 105-71 yesterday at Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai.
The kingdom’s senior men’s basketball team were in control virtually from start to finish, building a 29-point advantage by half-time before comfortably seeing out the contest.
The result followed Bahrain’s 106-62 opening victory over Oman and their thrilling 83-80 comeback win against hosts UAE.
Slobodan Subotic’s men now turn their attention to their final Group A encounter against Kuwait tonight at 7pm, where they will look to complete the first round with a perfect record.
Somto Patrick Onoduenyi produced a dominant all-round display against Nepal, leading Bahrain with 22 points and 16 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive glass. He also added two blocks and two steals to finish with a game-high efficiency rating of 37.
The 16-year-old is making his first appearance with the senior team in this tournament following a string of impressive performances for the kingdom’s youth sides.
Ahmed Bindayneh contributed 20 points, including five three-pointers, while Ali Rashed posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds along with six assists.
Bahrain asserted themselves from the opening tip, racing into a 6-0 lead before stretching the gap to 13-2.
JaKarr Sampson was heavily involved in the early scoring as the nationals continued to pull clear, moving 25-9 ahead before Nepal closed the opening period with five unanswered points to make it 25-14.
Any hopes of a Nepal fightback were quickly extinguished in the second quarter.
After the deficit was briefly cut to nine at 25-16, Bahrain responded emphatically, with Mahmood Khalifa and Bindayneh connecting from beyond the arc.
Bindayneh caught fire during the period, pouring in 14 points and knocking down four three-pointers as Bahrain tightened their grip on proceedings.
The nationals also stepped up defensively, restricting their opponents to just eight points in the quarter as they surged into the interval with a 51-22 advantage.
Nepal opened the second half with a Sadhish Pradhan triple, but Bahrain soon resumed control.
Onoduenyi took centre stage in the third, scoring 10 points while making his presence felt around the basket as the lead climbed beyond 30.
Bahrain were 64-30 ahead midway through the period and carried a 74-40 advantage into the final quarter after outscoring Nepal 23-18.
Onoduenyi then scored the first four points of the fourth, including a dunk following his own steal, to push the gap to a game-high 38 at 78-40.
Nepal enjoyed their best offensive spell from there, led by Nischal Maharjan, who repeatedly connected from long range as both teams scored freely over the closing minutes.
Ali Rashed answered with four three-pointers of his own during the period, while Onoduenyi continued to cause problems inside as Bahrain broke through the 100-point barrier.
The fourth quarter eventually finished level at 31-31, but the damage had long been done as Bahrain wrapped up a convincing 34-point triumph.
Maharjan led all scorers with 29 points for Nepal, including seven three-pointers, while Saurav Shrestha added 12 and Ajay Kushwaha finished with 10. The defeat left Sushil Gurung’s side winless after three games, having also lost to the UAE and Kuwait.
The top three teams in Group A advance to the second round of pre-qualifying, which will be played in November and December.
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