BASKETBALL – Twelve teams will be battling today for the overall crown of the Bahrain Summer Tour 2026.
The men’s 3x3 basketball series featured three stops leading up to this evening’s grand finale, which is to be played at Sports City 26 in Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB).
Action is scheduled from 5pm to 8pm. All are welcome to attend. There is a BD2 entry fee for spectators.
Headlining the participating field are Seef and ATBB. Both sides were winners in the preliminary tournaments ahead of the final, with ATBB taking the first round and then Seef winning back-to-back in rounds two and three.
The other competing outfits are NY, Lakers, Makhariqa, Falcon, Future Academy, Isa Town, Korma, Portlan from Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain’s under-23 A and B national teams.
The tournament’s champions tonight will come away with the lion’s share of $2,500 in prize money, along with a spot in the Go Too! Group Aichi 2026 Challenger tournament in Japan, to be held on October 10 and 11.
The Aichi event will act as a qualifier for this year’s Manama Masters – the kingdom’s top-tier tournament on the Fiba 3x3 World Tour 2026 scheduled for November 20 and 21.
The world tour is the premier street basketball series under the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) featuring tournaments of various levels held around the world. Masters events are at the highest tier, followed by Challengers – both of which are fed by qualifiers, which include Super Quest, Quest, and Lite Quest events.
Aside from the Bahrain Summer Tour 2026’s three rounds leading up to today’s finale, Lite Quest and Quest competitions were also held, making for a busy period for the 3x3 game in the kingdom.
Hangzhou from China were winners of the Lite Quest event, which earned them a spot in the Phoenix Challenger in the US, set for September 19 and 20 as part of this year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour.
Seef, meanwhile, took the Quest competition and booked their place in the Debrecen Masters in Hungary, set for August 29 and 30 as a top-tier world tour stop.
Action in 3x3 basketball on the island continues following this evening’s Bahrain Summer Tour 2026 final.
The second edition of the Bahrain 3x3 Basketball League for the kingdom’s clubs will be tipping off on August 15. It will consist of six rounds and end with a final event on September 25.
Participating squads will be vying for $8,000 in prize money along with qualifying places in to-be-determined overseas tournaments.
Bahrain has been involved as a host nation of the Fiba 3x3 World Tour in the past three seasons. In 2023 and 2024, Bahrain hosted the Manama Masters, while last year, the kingdom staged the Fiba 3x3 World Tour Final for the very first time.
Following this evening’s action at EWB, the Bahrain Summer Tour 2026 will also feature a women’s final, to be played tomorrow at the same venue.
Alba head into the competition as heavy favourites, having triumphed in the two rounds played leading up to the overall title-decider.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh