Alanzoor drives past an Indonesian opponent

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain suffered back-to-back defeats on their Asian Games 3x3 basketball debut yesterday, going down 21-2 to holders Chinese Taipei before a closer 14-10 loss to Indonesia.

Competing in Group C at Nagoya's Kinjo Futo Station Square, the Bahrainis endured a difficult start before putting up a stronger challenge in their second outing.

Chinese Taipei reached the 21-point winning mark after eight minutes and 26 seconds, led by Chang Chun-sheng with nine points.

Naser Alanzoor scored Bahrain's only two points, with his team converting just one of 12 attempts from two-point range.

Against Indonesia, the nationals remained within striking distance throughout the 10-minute contest, with Mohamed Qambar and Alanzoor scoring four points apiece and Isa Jassim adding two.

Bahrain converted seven of their 13 one-point attempts, but struggled from distance once again, making only one of 11 two-pointers as Indonesia held on for victory.

Elsewhere in Group C, Qatar made a perfect start with a 10-7 win over Indonesia before beating Chinese Taipei 18-15.

Back-to-back losses leave the kingdom seeking its first win when it faces the Qataris in tomorrow's final preliminary-round fixture at 8.30am, Bahrain time.

Attention then turns to Thursday's knockout phase, with the men's play-in games followed by the quarter-finals later that day.

Friday brings the semi-finals and medal contests, culminating in the men's gold-medal game at 1.30pm.

This marks Bahrain's first appearance in Asian Games 3x3 basketball, with the discipline featuring at the continental showpiece for only the third time since its 2018 debut.