Muharraq sink Al Hala - Jan 12, 2012 (by Yousef Ahmed)
MUHARRAQ last night swept to an impressive win over Al Hala in the delayed Zain Bahrain Basketball League match, to leave them leading the table at the half-way point in the season. Despite posting a respectable 75 points, Al Hala could not contend with the overall dominance of Muharraq, who produced a score of 101 themselves.
GJ Giles was undoubtedly the star of the show as he top-scored with 24, while also nullifying the threat of Al Hala dangerman Patrick Simpson [read more]
MUHARRAQ last night swept to an impressive win over Al Hala in the delayed Zain Bahrain Basketball League match, to leave them leading the table at the half-way point in the season. Despite posting a respectable 75 points, Al Hala could not contend with the overall dominance of Muharraq, who produced a score of 101 themselves.
GJ Giles was undoubtedly the star of the show as he top-scored with 24, while also nullifying the threat of Al Hala dangerman Patrick Simpson.
The sides went score-for-score for much of an open and entertaining opening quarter, with Muharraq just shading it by 19-16.
The influence of Giles began to take hold of proceedings in the second period however, as Muharraq stretched their lead.
The giant American tagged 13 points, thanks in no small part to the accurate passing of Mohammed Majeed to go with a monumental defensive performance that included a number of timely blocks when the ball looked destined for the hoop.
Al Hala stayed just about in touch thanks to some accurate long-range efforts but they found themselves trailing by 46-33 at the half-time break.
Far from getting complacent in the third quarter, the break merely spurred Muharraq on to what can only be described as an emphatic display of basketball.
It was one of those periods in which everything they tried turned to gold gold and, as is so often the case in those situations, as much as it seemed Muharraq couldn't miss a shot, their opponents at the other end couldn't buy a score.
Spark
Al Hala playmaker Hussein Taqi valiantly tried to kick the spark back into his side but time and time again he was left running against a brick wall of a defence, which would duly break down the play and race up the court to score.
A couple of quick time-outs could do nothing to revive Al Hala's fortunes and the game was summed up when Muharraq's Ahmed Hassan landed two outrageous three-pointers from virtually the same spot within 30 seconds of each other and without any response from the visitors, to leave his side leading 72-53 with the last ten minutes left to play.
Such was the healthy position of Muharraq heading into the final period that even the otherwise irreplaceable Giles was afforded a well-deserved rest.
With great credit to Al Hala, they too made use of their bench and indeed one of the big plus points to come out of the evening would have been the performance of youngster Hussain Salman, who looks to be a great prospect for the future.
For now though he could do nothing to stem the flow of attacks by a far superior opposition, with the hooter blowing at 101-75 in Muharraq's favour.
Source GDN BY TOM HANRATTY , Posted on Thursday, January 12, 2012
First Round Summary - Jan 12, 2012 (by Yousef Ahmed)
Bahrain Basketball league has resumed the first round of games; it has been so far an exciting season with great Basketball played and a lot of controversy and nail biting games.
The Best team in the island is Muharraq club with a record that speaks for itself, dominating and sweeping all games in the first round [read more]
Bahrain Basketball league has resumed the first round of games; it has been so far an exciting season with great Basketball played and a lot of controversy and nail biting games.
The Best team in the island is Muharraq club with a record that speaks for itself, dominating and sweeping all games in the first round. Also Muharraq is the most improved team from last year specially after losing two key players to its rivals Manama Club (Jassim Mohammed (190-G-83) and Essa Ebrahim (192-C-81)). They have been Dominating and basically playing great Basketball under their Captain and playmaker Mohamed Majeed and import CJ Giles. Credit to their Coach Charlie Parker with a great job so far.
The Biggest controversy is with Manama Club, with a team full of stars and Basically the National team of Bahrain in a club uniform. Manama Started the season wining the super cup and as the season progressed Manama Club slowly started losing its dominance. They lost to Ahli Club and Muharraq by just one basket, and then Manama had the biggest upset in the island losing to Sitra club by 5, coached by local legend Salman Ramadan , who got fired after that game. Now with a 7-3 record and no coach Manama has a lot of Questions, However if they can pull it together they are still the team to beat this season.
G Hassan Norouz Manama Club G Sayed Hashim Al Ahli Club F Boris Siakam Sitra Club F/C Ahmed Al Mutawa Manama Club C CJ Giles Muharraq Club
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT - Jan 2, 2012 (by Jonah Baize)
After discussing it with and running it by various veteran professional overseas players, NBA players, agents, journalists, collegiate coaches, and professional coaches, we came to the conclusion that I was in one of the worst most unobtrusive and unique situations an overseas professional basketball player could be in [read more]
After discussing it with and running it by various veteran professional overseas players, NBA players, agents, journalists, collegiate coaches, and professional coaches, we came to the conclusion that I was in one of the worst most unobtrusive and unique situations an overseas professional basketball player could be in. With it being my first year of professional basketball out of Clemson University, I did not come to the Al Najma Club feeling entitled to anything outside of what was in my contract. I understood I was not in a situation where I could expect any royal treatment. Although what I was not expecting is for the club to blatantly break all of the terms and conditions laid out in my contract. My contract stated that I should be guaranteed a car, a suitable living arrangement, and my salary to be paid promptly at the end of every month.
After being in Bahrain nearly 5 weeks, competing in games from round 1 to round 6, and showing up ready for every practice the Al Najma Club did not honor one single term of my contract. Not to mention I brought my team, who lost by 83 when I left this past week, to lose by only 3 to one of the top teams in the league, and averaged 18 points 10 rebounds and 4 assists under an incompetent coach who did not run me off of a single screen in any game I played.
I was living in Bahrain in the same apartment as my coach and his wife, had no car or means of transportation at all, had no walking around money, was not paid at the end of November, was not given my passport back for 5 weeks, and rarely got to speak to anyone in the management of the Al Najma Club. My first 2 weeks in Bahrain were some extremely tough days. I had no means or way to go shoot or workout extra nor did I have a way to get out of the apartment for anything extracurricular. After I started to show my frustration and explain to Coach Patrick Fussell that my situation was unfair and illegal, he explained to me that I, 'Need to be patient and understand that this is their culture in Bahrain and that I cannot demand to have my contract honored or I will mess it up for the both of us.' I then went on to explain to the coach that, 'I did not come half way around the world to play for free and that it seems as though he came to coach for free as he was satisfied with not being paid a dime as well.' After continuous conversation between me and Coach Patrick Fussell I decided to take his advice for the next 3 weeks and stay positive and patient.
After going 3 more weeks and being gone for over a month with no money, car, food, phone, etc, I was directly ordered by my agent not to practice or play in any games until the terms of my contract were fulfilled. Immediately following this decision, the club called me in and told me that I was going to be released due to the pressure and demands of my contract being fulfilled. After repeated conversation between my agent and the club, the team offered to pay me for the entire time I had been there as well as pay my flight change fees. They booked my flight for directly following the big game we had the next day and tried to convey to me that I would not be paid for my time there unless I played against Muharraq the night my flight left. When the club explained to me the situation and opened it for any thoughts or questions I explained that I was relieved to be out of this situation and I would have to discuss playing in the game with my agent. The Al Najma clubs GM went on to explain that I should not discuss it with my agent and that my agents commission must be paid out of pocket by me. While my agent explained to me that I should not play because they were just trying to get another game out of me I decided to sit out. The club ended up losing by 83 with Coach Patrick Fussell . Since then, I have been told that Coach Patrick Fussell has been souring my name and down talking me to other clubs that have contacted him because of my relieved comments in the final meeting and how my agent and I urged for my contract to be fulfilled. Once the club heard I might join another team and possibly compete against them in upcoming games in the Bahrain Basketball Association, the Al Najma club management was so eager to get me out of the country they sent someone to knock on my door several times that evening during the game. I was not going to post this blog and tell the truth about the Al Najma Club and Coach Patrick Fussell in the Bahrain Basketball Association until I saw a public posting on FaceBook this morning by Coach Patrick Fussell that directly states,
'To my friends and family I would like your opinion. I have the best job in the world, but am with a terrible club. I worked hard, saw a lot of result, then was told to stay away for a week and not coach a game. I was told not to treat my team as pros, but basically to babysit them and let them do what they want. The last game we lost by 45. I had 4 scheduled practices where no one came. Payday came and went with no pay...AGAIN!!! Tonight I have a game. If you were me would you try and do my job or just sit there and let them run up and down the floor and do what they want? If they do not care, why should I right? If I am not paid why should I work?'
Coach Patrick Fussell has been with Al Najma Club since November 1st. He bought his and his wife's roundtrip plane tickets to Bahrain because the club promised that they would refund and reimburse him in entirety for both. So far, he has not been paid a dime of his salary for each month, nor has he been reimbursed for his travel expenses, nor can he get his or his wife's passports back which the club has been holding for over 8 weeks. No matter how incompetent of a basketball coach he may be, he still signed a contract that states he must be paid promptly by the end of each month and all of the terms be fulfilled. This is the type of situation that some players and coaches must deal with when pursuing their basketball careers abroad. Need I say more?
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