KUWAIT CITY, July 29: The second round of the Asian Youth Cup (Under-18) basketball qualifiers for the Gulf region begins with two crucial matches. At 5:00 pm, the Saudi and Bahraini teams will face off, followed by the Kuwait team taking on Qatar at 7:30 pm. Both games will be held at the Union Hall in Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Indoor Halls Complex, Sabah Al-Salem.

The qualifiers commenced last night with two games: Saudi Arabia versus Oman, and Kuwait team against Bahrain. The top two teams from these qualifiers will advance to the Asian Cup finals in Amman, Jordan, scheduled from September 2 to 10.

Kuwait's match against Qatar is anticipated to be challenging due to the high technical and physical prowess of the Qatari team, which has dominated the Gulf age group championships in recent years. The "Blue Youth" will look to leverage the home court advantage and support from the crowd to secure a victory.

The technical staff of the Blue team, led by Coach Salman Ramadan and Assistant Coach Khaled Al-Qallaf, is banking on key players such as Adel Al-Saeed, Talal Fahd, Abdulaziz Al-Qattan, Wael Al-Enezi, and Adam Asad Allah. Meanwhile, Qatar's team relies on standout players Mohamed Ndaw and Abdullah Yassin, who are part of the Qatari Al-Rayyan first team.

Ghazi Al-Otaibi, the treasurer, commended the high morale and dedication of the Blue players. He praised their adherence to the technical and administrative staff’s guidance and their efforts during the preparatory training camp in Turkey. Al-Otaibi stated, "We look forward to a crucial match against Qatar. Securing a win is vital as we strive to qualify for the Asian Cup finals in Jordan this September."