DOHA (Qatar) - When basketball players talk about what it’s like to play with their teammates, one of the more common response is that it "feels like playing with my brothers".

Considering how much time these players spend with each other, the bond that is created is understandably close to brotherhood. For some players, that "brotherhood" takes a more literal sense.

Band of Brothers

Qatar won their first game of the FIBA U16 Asian Championship, 85-61, over Bahrain with all 8 players that played getting on the scoreboard. Of course, it was an important win for the team to play and win at home in front of the their friends and family.

But for the Ndao brothers, Moustapha and Mohamed, and Yassin brothers, Hamed and Adbulla, this win meant a bit more at a personal level.

"For me it is special to be on the court with Mohamed, playing for the national team," said Moustapha Ndao, the elder of the brothers who was born in 2005. "It felt a lot like how we grow up, playing with as kids at home."

Moustapha (left) and Mohamed (right) Ndao

Moustapha impressed with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, while the young Mohamed Ndao recorded 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals of his own.

"Playing with my big brother in our first international tournament, it takes all the pressure away," said 15-year-old Mohamed. "I look at him like when we were running around our father when he was playing, and I know we will do our best."

"It is a dream come true for both of us."

The Ndao brothers are a bit older than the Yassin brothers, but even then, the younger Yassins have made an impression of their own as well.

"It’s special," said 13-year-old Abdulla Yassin, who had 5 points in 13 minutes. "Not a lot of people have the chance to play with their older brothers."

Hamed (left) and Abdulla (right) Yassin

Support system

One of the biggest advantages of being blood brothers with teammates (teammates with your blood brothers?) is that the support and drive to make each other better has always been there, especially for these youth players.

For the elder siblings, there’s also an addition of "big bro" mentality in these situations, too.

Hamed Yassin

"I am so proud of [Abdulla] on making the national team," said 15-year-old big brother, Hamad Yassin, who had 6 points and 4 rebounds. "It is an advantage over others that he will feel confident playing with his brother and we can discuss and understand on what we are thinking about."

"As the bigger brother, I have to support [Mohamed] and help him to understand when he gets too excited," said Moustapha. "He has great talent and potential, I believe he will be a very good player."

Moustapha Ndao

The roles that Hamad and Moustapha play are important as they are the role models an inspirations for their young brothers as they all develop their games together.

"Moustapha is the guy I always watch growing up," said Mohamed. "He is a winner and he gives to me the same mentality. We practice hard every day, we listen our coaches and we are in this trip together. The best company."

Close competition

The most important advantage of being basketball brothers is that they are always pushing and competing with each other, an environment that can accelerate development for any player.

"We challenge each other, no matter what we doing," said Abdulla on how the brothers make each other better.

Abdulla Yassin

"By competing every day if we’re playing on the different team, we go hard at each other," added Hamad. "When we are on the same team, we talk and discuss on the things we doing wrong and the things we should do."

It’s easy to see how competitive and confident the brothers push each other to be when asked about how a 1-on-1 matchup between the two would look like.

Abdulla Yassin: "It’s going to be a tough game, but I know that I will win it all."

Hamad Yassin: "For me, it’s 11-0 but he definitely has a different opinion. It will be competitive, we might fight, we might talk trash, but at the end of the day it’s basketball."

Moustapha Ndao: "Mohamed is long and athletic but I believe as the big brother I have some tricks I can use to beat him. It will be close."

Mohamed Ndao: "I am sure Mous believes he can beat me because he is stronger, but I can beat his defense. When we were growing up he use to beat me easily because I was too skinny but I believe now we have the same size. I will win."

National Team Pride

Aside from the excitement of being able to play with their brothers, just being able to represent Qatar at the international stage is special enough by itself for the Ndao brothers.

"I was waiting this moment for years," said Moustapha. "Ever since I started basketball, I wanted to be part of our national team and play in front of our people. For all of us, it is just the beginning and I know I am only making a small step. Hopefully, I can do more things in the future."

"I am excited to be part of the Qatar national team and it makes me happier that I can do it in Doha, playing together with my best friends. This is a small step, but for every step, I want to take it one by one," added the younger Mohamed.

Mohamed Ndao

The Yassin brothers share the same sentiment about this early opportunity to represent Qatar.

"I am proud to be able to represent my country," said Hamad. "There would be a lot of responsibilities, but I would do whatever it takes to represent my country, Qatar."

"It feels great being a part of the Qatar national team," Abdulla simply stated.

Following the footsteps of a legend

For Hamad and Abdulla, there’s an additional angle as they are following the footsteps of Yasin Mousa, the legendary players of Qatar - and their father.

Yasin is widely regarded as one of the best ever to suit up for Qatar. He’s played in six FIBA Asia Cups with two trips to the Semi-Finals as well as in a junior national team World Cups. Yasin had mentioned in an interview with FIBA Asia Cup back in 2020 that he had been coaching and grooming his sons.

T"hey are really good," he proudly claimed.

Now we’re getting to see them in action.

"I fell in love with the sport when my father put the ball in my hands when I was 6 years old and I really enjoyed it and kept playing afterwards," said Hamad.

"My father is my idol. I just want to be like him. I watched his games a lot when I was younger but I do more now as I got older. I learned a lot from him on and off the court and he gives me as much advices as he could."

"My father is the player I watched the most. His games were on the television 24/7," added Abdulla. "I have learnt the most from him. I have watched my father a lot growing up, one of the key things he taught me as a player was shooting , dribbling, passing and defense."

Shooting for the stars

Hamad and Abdulla got to see up close and personal how far a Qatar basketball player can go and how good one can be if they put in the effort. That’s why they are able to set up high expectations and big goals for themselves as they embark on their basketball journeys.

"My goal is to make history, to win the World Cup. But now I am focused on qualifying for the World Cup," said Abdulla.

Big brother Hamad is aiming for just a tiny bit more than his younger sibling.

"My goals on playing in the national team are many. They will not be finished until I retire from basketball."

"I would do anything it takes for my country to win as much medals as we can."

That’s a wrap

Aside from the FIBA U16 Asian Championship hosts big win over Bahrain, the teams that were able to start their campaigns with a victory were New Zealand, Japan, Australia, and Lebanon.

New Zealand also had a pair of brothers - Phoenix and Hunter Trego - on the court, but it was the combined dominance of Julius Halaifonua (22 points, 10 rebounds, 10-11 field goal shooting) and Nic Book (25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) that were key to their 92-67 win.

Japan made the record books for biggest margin of victory and fewest points allowed for a Japan national team in the U16 Asian Championship in their 98-33 win over Kuwait. Four players scored in double-digits, highlighted by Teruchika Naito who had 14 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks.

The U16 Asian Championship defending champions Australia had no trouble beating India, 95-47. It was quite the coming out party for Rocco Zikarsky who had 18 points on 9-11 shooting to go with 14 rebounds.

Day 1 of the U16 Asian Championship 2022 wrapped up with Lebanon locking up Indonesia in a 76-49 win. Serouj Avedissian led the way with 19 points, 3 three-pointers, and 4 rebounds.

FIBA