Men’s basketball team gear up for Paris 2024 qualifiers

Bahrain's senior men’s basketball national team have begun their local training programme for their FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) next month. The Bahrainis are aiming to be amongst global basketball’s elite and secure a berth in the Paris Olympic Games 2024. They are taking part in an OQT for the first time ever, and will have to face some of the biggest nations in the game to realise their Olympic dream. Bahrain are one of 24 teams taking part in four separate OQTs, which are to be hosted at different locations across the globe from July 2 to 7. Their OQT will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They are in Group B for that competition along with Italy and the hosts. Group A features Mexico, Ivory Coast and Lithuania. The nationals begin their campaign against Italy on July 2, and then they take on Puerto Rico the following day. They need to finish amongst the top two nations in their group to advance to the semi-finals on July 6, while the final will be held on July 7. Bahrain have begun their preparations under newly signed head coach Jad El Hajj from Lebanon. In an introductory meeting with the national team players, advisor to the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport president and Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) national teams committee chairman Mohammed Al Ajmi welcomed El Hajj. An initial 24-player roster has been named for their ongoing training programme, with some of the top players including Wayne Chism (206-PF-1987, college: Tennessee), Mustafa Hussain, Maitham Jameel, Mohammed Ameer, Salman Ahmed, Ali Jaber, Ali Hussain, Alwethaq Ali, Subah Hussain and Ali Shukrallah (194-F-1994), to name a few. The squad will be trimmed to 12 for their OQT. In the final lead-up to San Juan, Bahrain are scheduled to hold an overseas training camp in the US this month. The three other OQTs are to be held in Spain, Latvia and Greece. The winners of each OQT will qualify for this summer’s Olympics, where they will join host nation France, along with Germany, Serbia, Japan, Australia, Canada, the US, and South Sudan. Group A in the Spain OQT includes Lebanon, Angola and hosts Spain, while Group B is composed of Finland, Poland and the Bahamas. The Latvia OQT features Georgia, the Philippines and hosts Latvia in Group A, while Brazil, Cameroon, and Montenegro are in Group B. In Greece, Group A features Slovenia, New Zealand and Croatia, while Group B includes Egypt, hosts Greece and the Dominican Republic. Bahrain secured their maiden berth in the FIBA OQTs after sweeping their five games en route to winning their FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Damascus, Syria, last August. Aside from their OQT, the Bahrainis are also gearing up to compete in the Gulf Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be hosted by the kingdom from September 2 to 9. The nationals will then resume their campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers with two games in November. Bahrain are in Group F of qualification along with Lebanon, Syria and the UAE. They have already played two games in this stage last February. They defeated the UAE 70-64 at home but then lost to the Lebanese 63-94 in Beirut. The Bahrainis next host Syria on November 22, and then play the Emiratis in the UAE on November 25. There are 24 national teams divided into six groups of four each in this opening stage of FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualification. These squads are vying for 16 places at the final tournament, with the top two teams of each group booking their tickets. The six third-placed teams will play another qualifying competition for the final four places.
Courtesy of: gdnonline.com