Cairo: The Qatari U-16 national basketball team will conclude their journey in the preliminary round of the 22nd Arab Basketball Championship for Juniors and Junior Women, currently being held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, when they face the Tunisian team at 5:00 PM tomorrow, Friday, in Hall 3 of the Cairo International Stadium Halls Complex. This will be the final round of the tournament.
According to Qatar News Agency, the tournament features six teams: Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. The competition is held in a single-stage league format, with the two teams with the highest points advancing to the final match scheduled for August 17. This will be preceded by a match to determine third and fourth place.
The match against Tunisia follows Qatar’s fourth match against Algeria, which ended in a 57-35 loss after a dominant performance from the Algerians from the start. The first three periods favored the Algerian team: 12-5 in the first period, 15-7 in the second, and 14-3 in the third. In the fourth and final period, the Qatari team improved, leading 20-16, but the overall score was 57-35 in Algeria’s favor.
The participation of the Qatari team, headed by Abdullah Sultan Al Jaber, a member of the Qatar Basketball Federation’s Board of Directors, and assisted by Khalid Al Mughni, Director of Youth Teams, is part of the Qatar Basketball Federation’s strategy to support young talent and prepare a generation capable of representing Qatar in regional and international sporting events.
The Qatari team lost their opening match to Bahrain 58-90, then lost a close match to Kuwait 59-61, before suffering their third defeat to the host team, Egypt 58-79. The team showed improvement in some periods, particularly during the third period, when they finished the match with a 14-13 advantage.
The Qatari team enters their match against Tunisia with 4 points.