BASKETBALL – MANAMA and Muharraq set up an exciting clash last night for the 2024-25 title in the Khalifa bin Salman Cup.
Manama, the competition’s two-time defending champions, advanced to this season’s final after completing a two-game sweep of their best-of-three semi-final series against Nuwaidrat. They closed out their head-to-head yesterday after beating their opponents 84-75 in game two, played at the Bahrain Basketball Association Arena in Umm Al Hassam.
Muharraq, on the other hand, won 85-69 against Samaheej in last night’s other fixture to wrap up their head-to-head in the last four, also with a two-game sweep.
In attendance during last night’s action was Cabinet Affairs Ministry under-secretary, Olympic Council of Asia vice-president, and Bahrain Olympic Committee vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, along with other officials.
In Manama’s victory, except for a brief stint in the first quarter, they held the lead from the opening tip and were in front by as many as 16 points. They then staved off a late Nuwaidrat surge where they got to within two possessions, but came no closer.
Tony Carr scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists to spearhead Manama’s attack. Hasan Nowrooz added 12 off the bench while Ali Jaber and Chad Brown had 10 points apiece in the win.
Elijah Tillman and Emran Hasan scored 19 apiece for Nuwaidrat, who reduced the deficit to 72-76 with just under two minutes to play in the final frame. Manama, however, responded and closed the game strong. Malik Wineglass chipped in with 16 and Murtadha Salman 12 in the losing effort.
In Muharraq’s triumph, they were dominant the entire way and once they went up by double digits in the first quarter, never looked back. They enjoyed leads as big as 20 en route to the final buzzer.
Myron Gordon had 23 points while Wayne Chism added 13 and 15 rebounds in limited minutes for Muharraq.
Kibi Mania finished with 29 and 18 boards to lead Samaheej while Basel Adel scored 18 off the bench.
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