The Saudi basketball team loses to Japan 80-86 in the 2026 Asian Games

The Saudi basketball team lost its match against its Japanese counterpart, “ranked second on the Asian continent,” with a score of 80-86, in the group stage competitions of the 20th Asian Games “Aichi-Nagoya 2026.”

The Basketball Greens have one match left in the group stage, when they face the Indonesian national team on September 13, at the end of their matches in this stage.

The preparations of the Saudi teams continue in Japan, in preparation for participating in the tournament, which will witness the participation of about 15,000 athletes representing 45 countries, as the teams in the city of Fuji continue their training programs before the start of their participation in the tournament’s competitions.

The Saudi swimming team joined the camp on Friday, with the participation of Sultan Al-Otaibi, Ali Al-Issa, Imad Zein, Mohammed Al-Otaibi, Mohammed Al-Zaki, Zaid Al-Sarraj, and Rami Al-Rahmouni, as part of its final preparations before competing.

Italian Giovanni Solinas, Al-Faisaly's coach, confirmed that Al-Ittihad deserved to win over his team, pointing out the big difference in ambitions between the two sides, while he expressed his satisfaction with the spirit shown by his players during the confrontation.

Solinas said in the press conference after the match: “I congratulate Al-Ittihad. They achieved a well-deserved victory, and they are a team that has players capable of making a difference. Of course, I am sad about the loss, but at the same time I thank our players for the spirit and fight they showed in the match.”

He added: “We have to admit that Al-Faisaly’s ambition this season is to remain in the league, while Al-Ittihad has a different ambition, which is to compete for the top positions.”

In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about Theo Bongonda not participating in the starting lineup, despite his clear influence after entering the second half and scoring Al-Faisaly’s goal, Solinas explained: “Theo suffered an injury in the fifth round, and therefore he was excluded from facing Al-Ettifaq. Today, I am happy with his return, participation, and scoring the first goal for Al-Faisaly.”

The Italian coach pointed out the importance of the upcoming pause period for his team, and said: “The pause period will be an opportunity for us to work on improving the team’s situation and come back better after its end, and we hope that we will reach the best possible readiness.”

Irish coach Brendan Rodgers, Al-Qadisiyah coach, said that the start in the match against Al-Ettifaq was very ideal, but “we declined in performance, and the weather was affecting.” “So we must take advantage of what happened to us.”

The coach continued his speech in the press conference: “I think that there is a beautiful goal for Al-Ettifaq (Maidran’s goal) that we must point out, and that it was one of the most beautiful goals. There were also defensive errors in our team and weak coverage. “So we must take advantage.”

Regarding the repetition of the scenario of the Al-Ahly match against Al-Ettifaq, Rodgers explained: “I do not think that the scenario was repeated, but the circumstances are similar. Today there was a physical impact after the effort of the Al-Ahly match, and there was an effort to calm the situation after the two goals and take control of the match, but the opponent sought and fought, and we had mistakes in the goals we received, and we must learn.”

In turn, Australian Arthur Pappas, Al-Ettifaq coach, said: “I salute my players because they returned to the match and did not give up, and the goal that came after the pause in the first half had an impact in restoring confidence and returning to the match.”

Regarding whether this tie was considered a gain compared to the circumstances of the match, Pappas said: “Any point separates us. We are happy with the spirit, not the result, and every match in which we want to win, even if it is against a strong and capable team like Al-Qadisiyah. We also want to be the team that rejoices in a win and not a draw, and we want to cultivate a culture that makes us look at every match as 3 points.”