Qatar to Face Kuwait at GCC Basketball Championship Wednesday

The Qatari national team will meet Kuwaiti counterpart on Wednesday, in the third and final round of the first round of the 17th GCC Men's Basketball Championship, which is hosted by Bahrain until Sep. 7. The tournament is being held with the participation of only four teams: Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Qatari national team wasted an easy win over its Saudi counterpart Tuesday, losing by two points (79-81) in their match that took place in the second round. Qatar advanced in the first three periods of the match with scores (18-15, 38-30, 61-47), but the players' performance declined in the fourth and final period, which ended in favor of Saudi Arabia (23-9) to end the match in a tie (70-70), and the two teams resorted to a 5-minute timeout, which the Saudi team decided with a score of (11-9), to win the match (81-79). The semi-final matches will be determined based on the results of the first round matches, with the first team meeting the third and the second team meeting the fourth, with the winners qualifying for the final match. The Qatari team holds the record for the number of times it has won the championship title with 6 titles, and is looking to strengthen its historical superiority over its closest competitor, the Saudi team, which has won four titles. The GCC Basketball Championship was launched in its first edition in 1981, and the Kuwaiti team won the title, while the last edition was held in 2019, during which Saudi Arabia won the title for the fourth time. Qatar holds the record for the number of consecutive times it has won the title with 4 titles, in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2016. Source: Qatar News Agency