FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 12 Bahrain gear up for FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers National team coach and NBA champion Sam Vincent names 16-player training squad

National delegations of• India, Jordan and Palestine arrive for qualifiers

Twelve-game schedule• to be held over five days tips off next Thursday

TDT | Manama

ahrain have named a 16-player squad for their Bpreparations for the third and final window in qualifica- tion for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021. Bahrain’s national team players and staff at a practice Forward Ali Jaber drives to the basket during a team scrimmage The qualifiers for Groups D and F are to be held in the King- hammed Ameer, Hasan Now- already arrived in the Kingdom. dom from next Thursday to Feb- rooz and Ahmed Najaf from Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Lebanon ruary 22 at the Khalifa Sports Manama; Mohammed Juma’a, and Iraq are scheduled to reach Hong Kong v Guam postponed City arena in Isa Town. Mohammed Buallay, Ali Rabea the Kingdom on Sunday or later. ahrain were also sup - place in Manama, Bahrain on The Bahrainis will be playing and Mohammed Kuwayed from There is a packed 12-game Bposed to hold two games February 19 and 21 have been twice in this period, first against Muharraq; Abdulrahman Ghali KNOW WHAT schedule to be played over five in Group C featuring Hong postponed due to restrictions Group D leaders Lebanon on from Al Hala; and Ali Jaber and days. Kong and Guam, but they have imposed by the Bahrain au- Saturday next week and then CJ Giles from Al Najma. The upcoming games in the been postponed, according to thorities. against Iraq two nights later. The Both Subah Hussain and Ra- Aside from having Kingdom will be the second FIBA Asia. “The other Group C game nationals have already qualified bea will not be continuing with already booked their time Bahrain is hosting a qual- A statement from organisers between New Zealand and for this year’s FIBA Asia Cup, the team for this period due to tickets to the FIBA ifying window for the FIBA Asia read: “FIBA Regional Office Australia will take place as but are still looking to end the different reasons. Coach Vincent Asia Cup 2021, Bah- Cup 2021. Last November and Asia has confirmed that the scheduled on February 20 in qualification process on a high is being supported by assistant December, qualifiers for both FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers Cairns, Australia. note. coaches Ayoub Haji and Ayman rain have also secured Groups D and A (Philippines, games between Hong Kong “The status of those games National team head coach Hamza. their place in the qual- South Korea, Indonesia, Thai- and Guam scheduled to take will be decided at a later stage.” Sam Vincent’s 16-player ros- Bahrain are in Group D of ification tournament land) were held. ter includes Mohammed Qur- qualification with Lebanon, for the FIBA World Bahrain registered back-to- loss record. Lebanon are the two wins from as many outings, ban, Maitham Jameel, Hesh- India and Iraq; while Group F Cup 2023. Those qual- back wins during that period, leaders with a 4-0 mark, while followed by Kazakhstan and Pal- am Sarhan and Subah Hussain features Jordan, Kazakhstan, ifiers will be played first against Iraq in overtime and India have one win in four games estine, who have identical 1-1 from defending Bahrain league Palestine and Sri Lanka. from November of then over India. and Iraq are bottom of the table win-loss records, and Sri Lanka, champions Al Ahli; Mohammed The national delegations of The hosts are currently sec- with four losses. who are still winless with two Hussain, Ahmed Salman, Mo- India, Jordan and Palestine have next year ond in Group C with a 3-1 win- Jordan are atop Group F with losses.

Neymar out of PSG’s Guardiola hails Jesus influence Champions League for record-breaking Man City Rizwan’s hundred helps clash with Barca Pakistan outlast South Africa AFP | Lahore

n-form wicketkeeper bats- Iman Mohammad Rizwan hit a maiden hundred as Pakistan edged out South Africa by three Neymar runs in a thrilling last over fin- ish to first interna- AFP | Paris tional in Lahore yesterday. Needing 19 to win off the last eymar will miss the first over, Bjorn Fortuin (17 ) Nleg of Paris Saint-Ger- and Dwaine Pretorius (15 not main’s Champions League out) managed 15 as pacer Fa- round of 16 tie against his Gabriel Jesus scores Man City’s third goal against Swansea heem Ashraf held his nerves former club Barcelona due to keep South Africa down to Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan celebrates scoring a century to a groin injury, the French AFP | London 166-6 in 20 overs. the second with Haider club said yesterday. Rizwan’s cracking 64-ball 104 Ali who made 21. The Brazilian forward ep Guardiola yesterday not out had six boundaries and It lifted Pakistan -- sent in to suffered the injury in PSG’s Phailed the growing influ- When he plays, he seven sixes -- most sixes by a bat -- from a disastrous start 1-0 win against Caen in the ence of Gabriel Jesus on and always plays good. Pakistan batsman in a Twen- which saw skipper and top last 64 of the French Cup off the pitch as Manchester ty20 international -- to lift the batsman Babar Azam run out on Wednesday, ruling him City fight for trophies on four It’s important for hosts to 169-6. 104 off the second ball of the match strikers to score. He runs were scored by out of the game in Spain on fronts. He then ran out the tourists’ Mohammad Rizwan off for nought. February 16. Jesus, 23, has not been an au- was brilliant, really top-scorer Reeza Hendricks 64-balls including six Azam hit a drive off spinner “After analysis of clini- tomatic starter in the Premier brilliant (54) in the 18th over to anchor boundaries and seven sixes Fortuin and ran for single but cal exams and scans, it is League this season, even in PEP GUARDIOLA the win. the bowler threw the stump expected that he’ll be out the absence of Sergio Aguero Hendricks and Janneman at the non-striker end with a for around four weeks de- through injury and illness. scored more but he played re- Malan (44) had given the vis- direct throw. pending on the evolution But the Brazil striker scored ally, really well. itors a solid 53-run start by the boundaries off 42 balls while Rizwan held the innings at of the injury,” PSG said in a his fourth goal in as many “He was incredible at An- seventh over before leg-spinner Malan hit eight boundaries and one end, changing gears in the statement. starts on Wednesday to take field in the locker room when Usman Qadir took two overs in a six off just 29 balls. 11th over when he hit three The club are hopeful he his season’s tally to eight as he didn’t play. He was incred- successive overs to derail South For Pakistan, Qadir took 2-21 sixes off pacer Junior Dala to could return for the second Guardiola’s side reached the ibly supportive to his mates. Africa. and fast bowler Haris Rauf fin- reach his fifty. leg in France on March 10. quarter-finals of the FA Cup “When a guy is like this he South Africa’s most expe- ished with 2-44. On his way to hundred he It is a second blow to last with a 3-1 win at Swansea. is so supportive to the other rienced batsmen David Mill- It was Rizwan all through was dropped twice on 83 and 96 season’s beaten Champi- Guardiola, who had dropped ones. er (six) and skipper Heinrich Pakistan’s 20 overs of . but he smashed medium pac- ons League finalists after Jesus to the bench for Sunday’s “When he plays, he always Klaasen (12) also failed to lift Rizwan, who scored his maid- er Andile Phehlukwayo over winger Angel Di Maria was 4-1 Premier League win at Liv- plays good. It’s important for the tempo. en Test hundred in Pakistan’s the deep mid-wicket boundary ruled out of the match with erpool, said: “It does a lot for strikers to score. He was bril- Hendricks’s fifth Twenty20 second Test win in Rawalpindi for his seventh six to complete a thigh injury. his confidence. He could have liant, really brilliant.” international fifty had eight earlier this week, added 68 for hundred off 63 balls.

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