Bahrain basketball league to bounce back into action, livestreamed on FIBA Asia Champions Cup

MANAMA (Bahrain) - FIBA Asia Champions Cup Facebook page and the FIBA YouTube channel will be livestreaming the remainder of the 2019-2020 season of Bahrain's Zain Basketball League.

Four teams will be playing in the resume of play in the season, Al Manama, Al Riffa, Al Ahli, and Al Muharraq. All teams have successfully completed their registration for the remainder of the season as well as registration for the foreign players that will be reinforcing their squads.

The season will be resuming in the Semi-Finals in a Best-of-Three series format. Top seed Al Manama will be facing Al Rifaa while Al Ahli is set to play against Al Muharraq to determine the winning team that will proceed to the championship round.

"We’re very happy to see the return of the league in Bahrain after a six month hiatus. The Kingdom has one of the most exciting leagues in Asia due to the competitiveness of its clubs and the passion of its fans," said Hagop Khajirian, FIBA Executive Director - Asia.

"With most leagues cancelled or rescheduled to later dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is one of the rare opportunities for basketball fans in Asia to watch and enjoy live basketball."

Al Muharraq are the defending champions of the Zain Basketball League and also played in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019. They are aiming for their 4^th league title this season.

League rivals Al Manama are also looking to add to their crowded trophy case this season. The proud club is among one of the most successful in Bahrain. Prior to Al Muharraq’s title last season, Al Manama had actually won three consecutive titles from 2016 to 2018.

Al Ahli have not won a league title in a while (since 2010), which is why they will be going all out to claim the trophy this year. They played against Al Manama in the Finals two seasons ago and will be focused on making it to that stage once again.

Al Riffa do not yet have a winning pedigree like their upcoming opponents, so they are determined to get one this time around. They actually came close last season by making it all to the Finals before finishing as runners up.

FIBA