Players battling for the ball during Kuwait and Tunisia match.

MANAMA, July 27:  Kuwait endured its second straight defeat at the 26th Arab Basketball Championship, losing to Tunisia 61–86. The tournament, hosted by Bahrain, runs through August 2.

In other matches, Egypt defeated Qatar 90–69, while the UAE narrowly beat Bahrain 81–79.

With two victories, the UAE leads the standings, followed by Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, and Tunisia, each with one win. Kuwait and Qatar are at the bottom of the table with two losses apiece.

Kuwait had opened its tournament campaign with a 79–87 loss to the UAE and faced another tough test late last night against title favorite Egypt.

Tunisia took early control of the game against Kuwait, capitalizing on its physical and technical superiority. It closed the first quarter with a 21–16 lead and extended its advantage to 42–20 by halftime, and dominated the third quarter to go up 67–30. Kuwait showed signs of improvement in the final period as Tunisia eased off, already confident of victory, with the game ending 86–61.

All teams will enjoy a rest day today, with matches resuming tomorrow. Kuwait will not participate in the fourth round, returning to face Algeria in the fifth round the day after tomorrow.

The championship is being played in a single round-robin format at Khalifa Sports City Arena, with the team earning the most points declared the winner.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff