MANAMA and Isa Town were both big winners last night in their respective Week Four games in the 2018/2019 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Led by a red-hot performance from Maytham Jameel, Manama used a scintillating second half in which they fired in 68 points to come away with a 118-84 victory over Nuwaidrat. Isa Town, meanwhile, were never in doubt in their 103-76 rout of Samaheej in yesterday’s other fixture.
Both games were played at Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam, where the week’s programme continues with another two games.
In Manama’s win, Nuwaidrat had the better start but both teams were deadlocked at 50-all at the half. That set the stage for the fine second half from the defending champions.
Jameel was instrumental in their surge, coming off the bench and pouring in 32 of his game-high 42 points in the final two quarters alone. That helped Manama build a commanding 83-69 advantage after the third period, and in the final canto they extended their advantage to their end-game 34-point winning margin.
Jameel was outstanding throughout the contest, especially in the fourth quarter when he sank six of his 10 three-pointers for the game. The sharp-shooting guard also had six assists to go along with his 42-point explosion.
American Wayne Chism added an all-around effort of 20 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four steals in the game; while Mohammed Ameer had a fine 20-point, eight-rebound performance. Ahmed Najaf finished with 15 points and court general Ahmed Aziz had 10.
For Nuwaidrat, who led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter after a Husain Hasan made it 26-15, Macedonian and Serbian professional Nenad Zivcevic top scored with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Ahmed Hassan also had a double-double with 17 and 11, while Ebrahim Albasri contributed 14 off the bench.
With the result, Manama registered their fourth win in a row to start the new season while Nuwaidrat suffered their second loss in three outings.
In yesterday’s other game, Isa Town built a huge lead early and never looked back against lowly Samaheej.
The victors were up 35-7 at the end of the first quarter, and even after getting back to within 65-80 after three, Isa Town finished strong for the 27-point win. They led by as many as 30 points in the game.
Pro big man Gavin Thurman from the US led Isa Town with 37 points, including five triples, and 15 rebounds in 40 minutes of work. Ahmed Salman added 25 markers and 11 assists in the win.
Skipper Hussain Busafwan paced Samaheej with 29 points in the game, while teammate Mujtaba Ismaeel had 15 and 12 rebounds.
Isa Town won their first game in three tries while Samaheej lost their fourth in a row.
League action continues tomorrow with Al Ahli taking on Al Ettihad and Al Najma facing Muharraq.
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