Players pause after a whistle by referee (unseen).

MANAMA, Aug 3: Kuwait suffered its sixth loss, falling 74-89 to Bahrain in the final round of the 26th Arab Basketball Championship held in Manama. This result placed Kuwait seventh and last in the tournament. This outcome calls for a serious assessment by the Kuwait Basketball Association’s officials, a complete overhaul of the training programs, and addressing key weaknesses. Creating the right environment and properly preparing the team is essential for achieving better results in future competitions.

Kuwait’s squad featured many young players competing at this level for the first time. Injuries to key players Adel Al-Saeed and Hussein Ashkanani also affected the team’s performance. However, these factors do not fully explain the disappointing results and overall low standard of play.

Most other teams participated with reserve or Olympic squads but still managed to deliver competitive performances and win at least one game. In contrast, Kuwait lost all its matches and failed to show convincing efforts on the court.

The impact of Serbian coach Oliver Kostic and his assistant Khaled Al-Qallaf was noticeably missing, despite hopes for improvement following promising performances in previous international events.

Algeria was crowned champion after beating Egypt 78-70. Tunisia secured second place by defeating Qatar 79-72.

Algeria finished undefeated with six wins, Tunisia came in second, and the UAE earned a notable third place. Bahrain placed fourth, Egypt fifth, Qatar sixth, while Kuwait ended at the bottom of the standings.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff