FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021 12 set for qualifiers’ final challenge National team to wrap up qualification for FIBA Asia Cup 2021 with games against Lebanon, Iraq at home later this month

Upcoming games in Bahrain Kingdom to host 12 Feb 18: 4pm Sri Lanka vs Kazakhstan, 7pm Palestine vs Jordan games• over five days in Feb 19: 4pm Palestine vs Kazakhstan, 7pm Sri Lanka vs Jordan two qualifying groups, Feb 20: 4pm India vs Iraq, 7pm Bahrain vs Lebanon featuring Lebanon, Iraq, KNOW WHAT India and Bahrain in Feb 21: 4pm Sri Lanka vs Palestine, 7pm Jordan vs Kazakhstan Group D; and Jordan, Feb 22: 11am Kazakhstan vs Sri Lanka, 2pm Jordan vs Palestine, 5pm Lebanon vs India, 8pm Bahrain vs Iraq Kazakhstan, Palestine India and Iraq are both fighting for and Sri Lanka in Group F ifying window for the FIBA Asia third place in Group Cup 2021. Last November and Group D Standings D, which would Bahrainis looking December, qualifiers for both (*Qualified for FIBA Asia Cup 2021) • earn them a spot in Groups D and A (Philippines, P W L Pts to close out qualifying the second round South Korea, Indonesia, Thai- *Lebanon 4 4 0 8 competition on a high of qualifying. They land) were held. *Bahrain 4 3 1 7 note, having already are scheduled for a Bahrain registered back-to- India 4 1 3 5 secured their FIBA crucial head-to-head back wins during that period, Iraq 4 0 4 4 first against Iraq in overtime and Asia Cup 2021 berth on February 20 in the then over India. fication tournament for the FIBA with three wins in their Bahrain forward Muzamil Ameer in action against India during the second Kingdom window of qualifiers held last November On February 20, the Bahrainis World Cup 2023. previous four games will be hoping to bounce back The World Cup qualifiers will ed in the Kingdom later this Iraq and India are both fight- four times. from their loss against their Leb- be played over 15 months, be- TDT | month. Games in both Group ing for third place in the group, Jordan currently lead the anese opponents in their first ginning in November of next D and Group F are being hosted which would earn them a spot in group with two wins from as meeting held in February of last year. Bahrain will be one of 80 by Bahrain. the second round of qualifying. many outings, followed by Ka- year in Beirut. They will then countries from around the world ahrain’s senior men’s na- Bahrain’s clash with Lebanon They are scheduled for a crucial zakhstan and Palestine, who look to continue their earlier competing for 32 spots in basket- tional basketball team will be their fifth Group D fix- head-to-head on February 20, to have identical 1-1 win-loss re- success over Iraq. ball’s showcase event, which will Btake on their counterparts ture in this stage of qualification. be followed by Lebanon playing cords, and Sri Lanka, who are Aside from already having be jointly hosted by Indonesia, from Lebanon on February 20 in They then take to the hardwood India on February 22. still winless with two losses. booked their tickets to the FIBA Japan and the Philippines. their penultimate game of the one last time against Iraq on Group F features Jordan, Ka- Asia Cup 2021, which will be The World Cup field will in- qualifying competition for the February 22. zakhstan, Palestine and Sri Lan- Back-to-back wins their first appearance in the clude eight teams from Asia and FIBA Asia Cup 2021. The Bahrainis have already ka. They are set to play a packed The upcoming games in the competition since 2013 and Oceania, 12 from Europe, seven The contest is part of the third qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup eight-game schedule over four Kingdom will be the second ninth overall, Bahrain have also from the Americas, and five from window of qualifiers to be host- 2021 along with Lebanon. days, with each team playing time Bahrain is hosting a qual- secured their place in the quali- Africa.

Muharraq score late equaliser to salvage draw against Najma outclass in BBA Cup dulla Adrees put his team ahead, Ismaeel Abdullatif also with a header. • With Muharraq desperately heads home in fifth looking to level the score late minute of stoppage on, Abdullatif delivered as he time to save Muharraq found enough room between from defeat two Busaiteen defenders to send the ball home off a Waleed Al Hayam cross. A little earlier, Hamza Abdulla they fell behind after Adrees Adrees• scores in final managed to break free from the minute of regular time to Muharraq pressure and head give Busaiteen late lead the ball narrowly past goalkeep- er Sayed Mohammed Jaffar off a corner. TDT | Manama The result ended Muhar - raq’s three-match losing streak Muharraq’s Abdulwahab Al Malood, left, looks to keep possession against uharraq and Busaiteen but they improved to just nine Busaiteen’s Soune Daniel Soungole during last night’s match Mscored two late goals as points from nine games for fifth they battled to a 1-1 deadlock last place on the table. Buasiteen, Standings night to kick off the ninth week meanwhile, went to seven P W D L GD Pts of action in the 2020/2021 Nas- points with their fourth draw Riffa 8 7 1 0 8 22 ser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier but stayed second-to-last. East Riffa 7 5 1 1 8 16 Football League. League action continues Manama 8 4 2 2 3 14 Ismaeel Abdullatif saved Mu- tonight with another three Hidd 8 3 3 2 0 11 harraq in the fifth minute of matches. At 4.50pm, Riffa will Muharraq 9 2 3 4 0 9 stoppage time with a header look to maintain their winning Budaiya 8 2 3 3 -1 9 in the face of goal to secure the ways against Budaiya, and then Al Najma 8 2 2 4 -3 8 Riffa’s Ali Abbas looks to make a play against Najma share of the points. Just six min- Manama and Al Ahli face off Al Ahli 8 2 2 4 -6 8 TDT | Manama utes earlier, Busaiteen appeared at 6pm. In the evening’s final Busaiteen 9 1 4 4 -1 7 to have stolen away a late victo- fixture at 7.20pm, Al Najma take Malkiya 7 1 2 4 -8 5 l Najma defeated Riffa ry after substitute Hamza Ab- on Malkiya. A107-82 in a Group B clash last night in the 2020/2021 Bahrain Basketball Association KNOW WHAT (BBA) Cup. Najma were the aggressors Mehidy, Mustafizur give Bangladesh edge over Windies from the start, taking a 29- This stage of the BBA AFP | Chittagong 19 lead at the end of the first and two runs respectively. quarter, which they extended Cup is being played in Brathwaite closed in on a 50 to 59-41 at the half. They then a single round-robin ustafizur Rahman claimed to remain unbeaten on 49 along- cruised in the final two peri- within each group, Mtwo early wickets after side debutant Bonner, 17 not ods en route to securing the with the top two Mehidy Hasan struck his maid- out, at the close. 25-point win. teams qualifying for en Test hundred to put Bang- Mehidy was earlier the last The other teams in Group B the semi-finals ladesh on top in the first Test 103 man dismissed in Bangladesh’s are Manama, Al Hala, Sama- against the West Indies in Chit- runs were taken by innings when he holed out a heej and . Group A fea- tagong yesterday. Mehidy Hasan off 168 balls catch to substitute Kavem tures Muharraq, Nuwaidrat, qualifying for the semi-finals. Mehidy hit 103 off 168 balls to Hodge at long on off off-spinner league champions Al Ahli, Al Each club is allowed one guide the hosts to 430 in their Rahkeem Cornwall. Shakib Al Ettihad, Bahrain Club and Isa foreign player in the tourna- first innings before Mustafizur’s Shakib Al Hasan (R) plays a shot Hasan also struck 68 as Bang- Town. ment, while none of Bahrain’s 2-18 helped them reduce the and Nkrumah Bonner put 51 visitors by dismissing John ladesh dominated the West In- This stage of the BBA Cup national team players are com- tourists to 75-2 at stumps on the runs in an unbroken third-wick- Campbell and Shayne Moseley dies’ bowlers to add 188 runs in is being played in a single peting. Teams are encouraged second day. et stand to stave off further dam- early. Both the batsmen were two sessions after resuming the round-robin within each to give their younger players Captain Kraigg Brathwaite age after Mustafizur rattled the judged leg-before, making three day’s play at 242-5. group, with the top two teams experience in the competition.

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