Kazakhstan's men's basketball team has ended its run at the Asian Games in Japan early, suffering its third straight defeat. After losses to China and the Philippines, the team coached by Aleksandr Lysyak fell to Bahrain 78-101 and left the tournament five days before the official opening ceremony, infohub.kz reports.

The decision to stop using naturalized players has hurt the national team's performance. The top Asian teams are now out of reach for Kazakhstan. Solid mid-tier opponents, as shown by the game against Palestine in the home qualifying tournament for the 2029 Asia Cup, are also too strong for us.

Kazakhstan's basketball players have competed in the Asian Games since 1994. At the 2002 Games in Busan, South Korea, the team won bronze. In 1998 and 2014, Kazakhstan finished fourth. Those days appear gone for good. And the situation around BC Astana, stripped of most of its funding, does not bode well for Kazakh basketball in the future.

Against Bahrain, only a win would do for Kazakhstan. But the team matched the opponent's foreign legion only at the start. Late in the first quarter, Bahrain pulled away to lead 28-15 and continued to extend its advantage. The final score was 101-78 (28-15, 27-24, 22-17, 24-22).

Daniil Severgin was Kazakhstan's top scorer with 16 points. Anton Bykov added 14. Bahrain's leaders Jakarr Sampson and Mustafa Rashed scored 23 and 20 points respectively.

So far, South Korea, Japan, China, Iran, Chinese Taipei, Jordan and Bahrain have secured quarterfinal berths.

ASIAN GAMES 2026. Basketball. Men. Group A: South Korea 82-66 Saudi Arabia, Japan 98-53 Indonesia, Indonesia 48-102 South Korea, Japan 86-80 Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia 100-89 Indonesia, Japan 83-100 South Korea. Standings: 1. South Korea — 6, 2. Japan — 5, 3. Saudi Arabia — 4, Indonesia — 3.

Group B: Iran 53-59 Qatar, Jordan 80-83 Chinese Taipei, Chinese Taipei 69-72 Iran, Qatar 65-76 Jordan, Iran 81-68 Jordan, Chinese Taipei 91-69 Qatar. Standings: 1. Iran — 5, 2. Chinese Taipei — 5, 3. Jordan — 4, Qatar — 4.

Group C: China 99-61 Kazakhstan, Philippines 85-89 Bahrain, Bahrain 59-105 China, Kazakhstan 78-109 Philippines, Bahrain 101-78 Kazakhstan, China vs Philippines to be played later. Standings: 1. Bahrain — 5, 2. China — 4, 3. Philippines — 3, Kazakhstan — 3.

The official opening ceremony will take place on September 19. The next day, the final and third-place match in the classic men's 5x5 basketball will be played. The Games program also includes a women's 5x5 tournament and men's and women's 3x3 competitions. Kazakhstan will be represented in all tournaments.

The 20th Summer Asian Games will be held in the Japanese city of Nagoya from September 19 to October 4. The multi-sport event, featuring athletes from 45 countries, will award 460 sets of medals: 217 for men, 204 for women and 39 in mixed events. Competitions will be held in 68 disciplines across 41 sports.

Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games will include 571 athletes.