The Peninsula
The Qatar Basketball Association (QBA) is set to host the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship, which begins today at the Al Gharafa Club Hall.
The tournament, which will conclude on June 19, will see 13 teams divided into four groups as they battle for top honours.
Hosts Qatar are in Group A with Australia, Bahrain, India, while Group B is made up of Iran, Lebanon and Indonesia. Philippines, Japan and Kuwait are in Group C, with Korea, New Zealand and Kazakhstan lining up in Group D.
Today, the tournament will kick off with Kazakhstan taking on New Zealand. Reigning champions Australia will begin their campaign to defend the title against India, while hosts Qatar will face Bahrain in their first game.
The group stage concludes on June 14 with the top teams in each group proceeding to the Final Phase in the quarter-finals, starting on June 17. Teams finishing second and third in each group however, will play in the Qualifying Phase on June 16.
The second-ranked team in Group A will play the third-ranked team in Group B and vice versa. Similarly, the second-ranked team in Group C will play the third-ranked team in Group D and vice versa as well.
The four teams advancing to the semi-finals of the U-16 Asian Championship will qualify for the FIBA U-17 Basketball World Cup 2022 which will be played from July 2-10 in Malaga, Spain.
A press conference to announce the details of the tournament was held yesterday and was attended by Qatar Basketball Association (QBA) President Mohammed Saad Al Mughaiseeb, Secretary General Saadoun Sabah Al Kuwari, Secretary General of the Asian Basketball Federation Hagop Kagerian and Tournament Director Mishaal Ahmed Al Enezi.
Al Mughaiseeb said that the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship is the first tournament hosted by the QBA in its new form and in the coming years the federation will organise many tournaments targeting the age groups.
“One of the main objectives of the Qatar Basketball Association is to host international tournaments, while the second goal is to attract and develop young talent. We are in the process of preparing a project for 2030. We have selected a number of young talents and we will develop a plan to integrate them into global training camps so that these talents will undergo an intensive training program and participate in tournaments. We will provide all support to the age groups to create promising teams for the future,” the QBA president said.