Players battling for the ball.

CAIRO, Aug 14: Kuwait’s U-18 national basketball team takes on Algeria today at 7:00 p.m. in the fifth and final preliminary round match of the 22nd Arab U-18 Basketball Championship at the Cairo International Stadium sports complex.

In earlier matches, Qatar faces Tunisia at 5:00 p.m., while host Egypt clashes with top-ranked Bahrain at 9:00 p.m.

The tournament features six teams competing in a single round-robin format. The top two teams will advance to Sunday’s final, with the third-place playoff held beforehand.

Kuwait has recorded one win so far, beating Qatar 61-59, but suffered losses to Tunisia (41-78) and Bahrain (57-81). Overcoming Algeria—one of the favorites—is expected to be challenging, as the team combines strong technical and physical abilities. Algeria previously defeated host Egypt 76-74 in double overtime but lost heavily to Bahrain (54-80), another title contender.

Coach Talal Al-Kallaf will depend on key players, including Captain Abdulaziz Al-Mutawa, Freij Al-Freij, and Abdullah Al-Juraid, to break through Algeria’s defense, while center Ali Al-Hindal is expected to play a crucial role on defense.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff