MANAMA (Bahrain) - The Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) has made strong efforts to push basketball in the country forward to the next level, focusing on youth development. The result has been a successful run in recent years with a historic 7^th placed finish at the U18 Asian Championship in 2018 and a runaway title campaign at the recent U18 GBA Qualifier this year.

The foundation has been set and the next step is to develop a star (or stars) to lead the way as they head into the bright future.

There are multiple candidates, but one of the brightest one out there is Muzamil Hamoda.

(Muzamil Hamoda, FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2018)

Listed at 1.98M (6’6”), Hamoda is registered as a guard where he uses his length to make threatening strides toward the basket. At the U18 Asia Championship in 2018, he averaged a respectable 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game - a stat line that looks only more promising knowing that he did it as a 16-year-old playing against players who were mostly 2 years older.

In a loss to Japan late in the tournament, Hamoda registered 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists to stamp his presence as a player to watch in the future of Asian basketball.

His early success should come to no surprise, especially from anyone familiar with the basketball scene in Bahrain. Muzamil comes from a line of basketball siblings which is how he started getting involved in the sport. What started as just playing around in the household has now turned into the brothers striving for the Bahraini powerhouse club, Al Manama.

"My local idol is Mohammad Ameer," Muzamil said.

(Mohammad Ameer Hamoda (right), FIBA Asia Cup 2021 GBA Pre-Qualifiers)

The elder Mohammad Ameer Hamoda was one of the driving forces for Bahrain at the Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers West Region, averaging 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He was an obvious choice for Muzamil as someone to look up to in the local basketball scene. Muzamil says he and his brother have yet to discuss the potential of them playing at the same time on the senior national team, but it seems like an inevitable scenario down the road.

While the two brothers have had their time playing with each other, they also go up against each other from time to time in typical brotherly love fashion. It is in these clashes where Muzamil has developed his competitive edge. He would take those losses to his brother close to the heart, even admitting to crying after such defeats.

Surely, it was in these games that molded him to become and even better player in the future.

And what a promising future it is indeed for Hamoda. You can only hope that he will continue to improve and impact the game in ways like his two other idols are doing in their respective regions.

"My Asian idol is Fadi El-Khatib of Lebanon," admitted Muzamil. "My international idol is LeBron James, who is playing in the NBA."

Hamoda has been similarly starring in multiple aspects at his own current level. At the U18 GBA Qualifiers, he exploded for an absurd line of 23.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 4.4 steals, and 2.6 blocks per contest - finishing in top 6 of all the major statistical categories.

(Muzamil Hamoda, FIBA U18 GBA Qualifiers 2020)

It might be a long shot for a teenager like Hamoda to crack into the senior national team lineup for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers ahead, but it’s a shot he will take advantage of if given.

“[Getting to play at the Qualifiers] will be feeling I can’t describe, of course, but I’m waiting for this opportunity to showcase my skills and abilities,” Hamoda said.

FIBA