Kazakhstan basketball team eliminated from Asian Games before official opening
Although there are still five days before the official start of the Asian Games, competitions in some sports have already begun. Basketball was one of them, with Kazakhstan’s national team taking part.
Minus-92 difference: how the basketball players performed at the Asian Games
Kazakhstan’s national team was placed in a group with Bahrain, China and the Philippines. The team lost to China 61–99 at the start of the tournament, and then to the Philippines 78–109 in the second match.
Despite this, the team still had a chance to reach the playoffs before the third game, since not only the two best teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, but also the best third-placed team.
Kazakhstan failed to take advantage of the format, losing to Bahrain 101–78 and leaving the tournament from last place in the group.
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It should be noted that Kazakhstan’s men’s national basketball team has Asian Games bronze medals to its name, won in 2002. However, in 2018 and 2023, the team failed to make the top eight.
What is happening to Kazakh basketball
As a reminder, several months before Kazakhstan’s national team started its Asian Games campaign, the former base club of the national team, Astana, was disbanded as a professional club and switched to a reserve development format. The reason was the team’s unsatisfactory results in the VTB United League.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports made this decision after the club had already announced its return to the VTB United League following a one-year break, effectively leaving the team’s players no time to find another place of employment.
According to the ministry, 7.2 billion tenge had been allocated to BC Astana from 2023 to 2026, or 1.8 billion tenge annually.
Kazakhstan’s national team included two players who were supposed to start the season with Astana — Rustam Murzagaliyev and Askar Maidekin.
In addition, before the start of the season, the reigning champion, Caspiy from Aktau, announced its withdrawal from the Kazakhstan championship. However, its funding problems were resolved two days after the announcement, and the team returned to the league.