BAHRAIN is bringing no less than four naturalized players to the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball tournament, where it will be facing Gilas Pilipinas on its debut in Nagoya.
Bahrain will be led by its resident naturalized player JaKarr Sampson, who played for the team in the 2029 FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournament.
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But the Mideast side's 12-man lineup for the Nagoya Asiad also has three more players of foreign descent in Uros Ilic, Austin Ajukwa, and Elijah Thomas, according to GDN Online.
Ilic, a 6-foot-10 player of Serbian descent, is a regular in Bahrain’s 3x3 teams along with Ajukwa, a 6-foot-6 guard who played NCAA Division 1 basketball with Clemson.
The 6-foot-11 Thomas played college ball for Texas A&M and Clemson, and is currently suiting up for Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Arabia leagues.
The seven-foot Sampson has the most experience among the four with brief stints with NBA ballclubs Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Sacramento, and Indiana after coming out of St. John's.
He currently plays in the Chinese pro league.
Their presence is proof that Bahrain is pulling all the stops to be competitive at the Asian Games, where it will open the competition against Gilas on Thursday.
Gilas' all-PBA team
Gilas is likely coming in with 11 players with little hope of naturalized player Justin Brownlee joining the team days before the Asiad.
The reigning Asian Games champion will parade an all-PBA team as Kai Sotto and overseas-based players Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao, and Carl Tamayo are unavailable for the competition.
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