Doha: Team Qatar began their campaign in FIBA U-16 Asian Basketball Championship with an 85-61 victory over Bahrain at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall on Sunday.
The match was attended by FIBA Asia President H.E Sheikh Saud bin Ali Al-Thani and QOC Secretary General H.E Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain and Qatar Basketball Federation officials.
Qatar were firmly on the backfoot in their opening Group A encounter as Bahrain ran riot in the first quarter. The hosts trailed 15-22, struggling to keep out the rival offensives. They fought back in the second quarter but were only just ahead at 37-36 at the break. With some strong attacks and gritty defending, Qatar pulled away to lead 63-50 in the third quarter and eventually stormed to a huge 24-point win.
In another Group A match, defending champions Australia scored a 95-47 win over India.
In two other matches on the opening day, New Zealand defeated Kazakhstan 92-67 in Group D, while Japan scored an easy 98-33 win over Kuwait in Group C.
Source: Qatar Olympic Committee