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India lost their final match of the FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament with a 66-79 loss against Bahrain on Thursday in Syria.
India began the match on a high note and even led the first quarter, 24-17. They improved their lead at the start of the second quarter to move to 32-27 initially. However, Bahrain pulled things back in the second quarter.
Muzamil Ameer Hamooda scored a 3-pointer, and Mustafa Rashed followed it up with a 2-pointer to put Bahrain on top. In the final moments of the match, Muzamil scored once again to extend the lead to 48-39.
Notably, Bahrain grabbed 31 points in the second quarter, while India gathered 15 points. This quarter of the match made the difference in the match, as India could not recover after that.
Muzamil continued to lead Bahrain's charge in the third quarter as they added 22 points. India missed a few chances and managed only 12 points.
In the final quarter, India took charge. Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon was the star with five points in the final quarter. India finished the Q4 with 15-9, but it wasn't enough to defeat Bahrain.
India's star in the first two matches, Pranav Prince, could not make an impact today. He missed a few chances in the final moments of the match.
Earlier in the tournament, Prince played a major role in victories against Indonesia and Syria. Notably, against Syria, he ended with 21 points, helping the team to stun the hosts.
Bahrain remain unbeaten in the FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament
Bahrain finished their league stage of the FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament unbeaten after five matches. They are at the top of the table with 10 points. Bahrain also has a point difference of a massive +119. They have already qualified for the 2024 FIBA Men's Olympics Qualifying Tournaments.
India finishes their FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament campaign with two wins and three losses, with a point difference of -6. India lost their last three matches against higher-ranked teams - Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
