SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) - Clocking in at No. 71 in the FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike, Bahrain are not only the lowest ranked country in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico, but across all four tournaments.
That distance from the top can be daunting to outsiders, but inside their camp, both players and coaching stuff exude a mixture of gratitude and excitement for the road ahead.
It's already an achievement for Bahrain to be in the Qualifiers.
"Honestly, we're so happy to be here," said head coach Jad El Hajj. "It's already an achievement for Bahrain to be in the Qualifiers. We've never played in a World Cup before. We never played anything. So (Tuesday’s) game against Italy is the biggest game and the highest platform."
Bahrain made the tournament after sweeping through the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Syria last year.
And despite losing leading scorer Mustafa Rashed, the team is looking forward to the challenge."Being underdogs is a blessing because we just keep growing up and working hard since 2020," said 22-year-old forward Zee Hamoda. "We had this team like for a long time and, you know, it just being a blessing being here and competing as well."
Near the other end of the age spectrum, big man Wayne Chism opened up about the benefits of getting to go up against world class squads like Italy and Puerto Rico, with whom they’ll share Group B.
"This experience is going to carry us for a lifetime because these guys are the highest level they can be besides the NBA and EuroLeague and all that," he said. "But this is the Mecca of basketball when it comes down to it."
You had to have the dog in you to get here and all these guys, they have it.
The 37-year-old Chism, a naturalized player, was crucial in getting Bahrain to where they'd never been before, redefining the limits of what's possible for the Middle Eastern nation.
"It opened up a lot of doors for the next generation," he said. "We broke down a lot of barriers to get here and those barriers were tough. You had to have the dog in you to get here and all these guys, they have it. They have it no matter if the European level or the NBA level, it doesn't matter as long as you have the dog inside and your heart is pumping strong. Even if you lose, you still didn't lose because you held your own against somebody that's at a level that you want to be at."
El Hajj already got his native Lebanon to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and now is helming Bahrain through this new, prosperous era as they try to bridge the gap to the top.
"We know (who we are)," he said. "We know the chances here. We know who is here to qualify, who is here to compete and who is here to get better and take the new experience, so hopefully it's going to be a good win for us."
That level of self-awareness is rooted in the understanding that the competition will be fierce. No one inside their camp is selling false expectations.
However, they understand what it would mean to shock everyone in San Juan and book a ticket to Paris.
"It would mean the world to me, especially since we've never made the Olympics," said Hamoda. "We’re looking to get there."
"To get there, it would be the best gift ever for the country of Bahrain," added Chism.
FIBA