BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN Basketball Association (BBA) president Eng Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, along with members of the BBA board, visited a senior men’s national team practice session to follow up on their progress in preparation for the first round of pre-qualifiers for the Fiba Asia Cup 2029.
The Bahrainis are getting set to face off with Oman, Nepal, Kuwait, and hosts the UAE in Group A of their qualification event, which is to be held in Dubai from August 26 to 31.
Shaikh Mohammed and the board spoke with the national team’s players and with the technical and administrative staff, led by Greek-Slovenian head coach Slobodan Subotic, and praised their commitment and discipline throughout their training programme.
Shaikh Mohammed affirmed the BBA’s full support for the kingdom’s squad in the upcoming phase and wished them success in the qualifiers as well as in future competitions.
Bahrain open their pre-qualifiers campaign against Oman on August 27, and then take on the home side Emiratis the following day.
The nationals then face Nepal on August 30, before completing their opening round campaign the next evening against Kuwait.
There are 18 nations in all in this stage of pre-qualification. The field has been divided into four groups.
Group B is to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and it features Palestine, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, and the host Kazakhs. Group C, set for Seremban, Malaysia, includes Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the host Malaysians; while Group D, to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, features Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji, and the host Mongolians.
The top three from each group will move on to the second round of pre-qualifiers, to be played at the end of the year.
Aside from this competition, the Bahrainis are also gearing up to be a part of the men’s basketball tournament at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh