BAHRAIN clubs Manama and Al Ahli both suffered tight losses last night in the Fiba Asia Champions Cup 2019 Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) Qualifiers, currently being played at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town.
Manama bowed to Al Shamal of Qatar 79-89 in a Group ‘B’ clash in the tournament’s preliminary round, while Ahli went down fighting 79-84 against Sharjah in Group ‘A’.
In another game yesterday, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai thrashed Al Seeb of Oman 108-86 in Group ‘B’.
Tournament action continues today with the final day of preliminary round games at the same venue.
In Manama’s loss, Mustafa Hussain buried a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Bahrainis a 77-74 lead with three-and-a-half minutes remaining. After Hassan Nowrooz made it 79-76, Shamal replied with a decisive 13-0 run to end the contest and secure the victory.
Terrico White from the US and Maciej Lampe from Poland scored 18 points apiece in the loss. White had a triple-double, adding 10 rebounds and 10 assists to his all-around performance. Lampe nearly emulated his teammate, finishing with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Hussain had 19 markers off the bench, including five three-pointers.
Mohamed Harat had 36 points and 20 rebounds to lead Shamal while American professional Jeffrey Newberry II had 26 and 11.
Manama suffered their first defeat with the result while Shamal claimed their first win. Both sides end their preliminary round campaigns today.
In Ahli’s loss, the Bahrainis were behind by as many as 19 points early in the third quarter but gradually crawled their way back into the game.
A 7-0 run to begin the fourth period, sparked by an Ali Melad three-pointer, gave them a slim 65-64 lead, but Sharjah answered with their own 11-2 run to regain control 75-67.
Two free-throws by American-Kiwi Marcel Jones brought Ahli back to within 78-81 with 58 seconds to go, but Sharjah’s American import Marvelle Harris applied the nail in the coffin with a three-pointer on the other end to stretch their advantage to six.
Harris finished the game with an impressive 39 points, including four triples, 14 rebounds and five assists. Countryman Tyler Wilkerson added 28 points, including three three-pointers, 12 rebounds and three blocks to complete Sharjah’s one-two punch.
Total
Wayne Chism and Jones combined for 46 of Ahli’s total. Chism led the way with 26 and he also had 13 rebounds. Jones grabbed 18 rebounds, while Bahrainis Hesham Sarhan and Melad chipped in with 15 markers apiece.
Ahli suffered their second loss to go with one win as they end their preliminary round campaign, which Sharjah swept with three wins to go atop Group ‘A’.
In Shabab Al Ahli Dubai’s win, they were in control of the game from the very beginning and never wavered. They took a 33-16 advantage at the first quarter and powered to as many as 33 points in front en route to the final whistle.
Chris Johnson had 35 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five blocks to pace Shabab, who also got 25 from Kevin Murphy.
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai took their second win in as many games while Seeb lost their second.
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