Cagers Launch Asiad Campaign

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain tip off their men’s five-on-five bid at the 20th Asian Games today against defending champions the Philippines.

The Pool C encounter begins at 7am at the 15,000-capacity Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, three hours after China and Kazakhstan contest the section’s first game.

Slobodan Subotic’s side will then face China tomorrow at 4am before completing their preliminary schedule against Kazakhstan at the same time on Monday. All listed times are Bahrain time.

Action in the 12-team tournament began yesterday in Pool B, where Qatar defeated Iran 59-53 and Chinese Taipei edged Jordan 83-80.

Pool A also gets under way today, with Indonesia meeting South Korea at 10am before Saudi Arabia take on hosts Japan at 1pm.

For the continental challenge, the kingdom has named a reinforced 12-player line-up featuring nine members of the squad that swept through Group A during the opening round of pre-qualifying for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029 in Dubai last week.

They are Mustafa Hussain, Ahmed Salman, Ahmed Alderazi, Ahmed Bindayneh, Ali Hussain, Ali Jaber, Mohammed Juma’a, Mohammed Buallay and JaKarr Sampson.

Greek-Slovenian coach Subotic has strengthened that core with big men Uros Ilic and Elijah Thomas, along with high-scoring guard-forward Austin Ajukwa.

Once the single round-robin is complete, the top two from each pool and the two best third-placed sides will advance to the quarter-finals on September 16.

The semi-finals follow two days later, setting the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on September 20.

Basketball is among several sports taking place before the opening ceremony, with the Asian Games officially running from September 19 to October 4 across Aichi and Nagoya.