The Bahraini youth team topped its group and won the knockout matches convincingly en route to the triumph meanwhile, hosting team Qatar had a campaign to forget after failing to qualify for the finals.

Bahrain’s youth team have won the Gulf Basketball Association’s U-15 championship with a convincing victory against Kuwait on Monday.

The Bahrainis won 70-58 in the finale held at the Qatar University Sports Complex in Doha to secure their spot in the next Under-16 Asia Cup.

Earlier, hosts Qatar succumbed 87-80 against Saudi Arabia, failing to secure the third place.

Qatar had been relegated to the third place play-off following a 99-63 loss against Kuwait in the semis on Sunday.

Bahrain, on the other hand, had been convincing throughout the four-day-long tournament, finishing first in the group that had Qatar and Oman.

Qatar’s Azam Yakan was chosen as Most Valuable Player in the tournament, marking a rare positive takeaway for the hosts from the six team tournament.

In the battle of the sides that had failed to qualify for the semi-finals, UAE beat Oman 67-43 to secure fifth place.

Qatar’s other youth side, the U-18s, has clinched the Gulf title earlier in August to book a place at the FIBA U-18 Asian Championship as the country prepares to host the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.