Manama rally to beat Al Ahli - Mar 8, 2010 (by Yousef Ahmed)
TITLE holders Manama stayed in contention for a place in the Zain Bahrain Basketball Cup finals, defeating 12-time champions Al Ahli 83-66 in the second round last night, writes RAMI HULAYYEL.
In a dramatic encounter, which took place at the Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam and witnessed by hundreds of basketball fans, Manama overcame a shaky start to clinch their second straight victory and remain strong contenders to win this competition for the 13th time [read more]
TITLE holders Manama stayed in contention for a place in the Zain Bahrain Basketball Cup finals, defeating 12-time champions Al Ahli 83-66 in the second round last night, writes RAMI HULAYYEL.
In a dramatic encounter, which took place at the Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam and witnessed by hundreds of basketball fans, Manama overcame a shaky start to clinch their second straight victory and remain strong contenders to win this competition for the 13th time.
Manama, coached by Abdulhameed Ebrahim, proved the stronger side with a coherence teamwork to emerge victorious.
Manama, who put Sitra down 92-72 in the opening encounter last Tuesday, are on top of this six-team round robin stage with four points.
On the other hand, it was the second straight defeat for Al Ahli, having lost their opener 68-83 to Al Hala last Monday.
But it was Al Ahli, coached by Aqeel Milad, who dominated the early stages of the game and went ahead 26-16 in the first quarter.
Manama came back in the second quarter and managed to reduce the deficit to just two points at 39-37.
Ebrahim's squad then took over the lead of 59-57 at the end of the third quarter and maintained their momentum in the fourth and final quarter for a deserving 17-point win.
Meanwhile, Nuwaidrat and Al Hala will be looking to extend their winning run today when they face off at 7.30pm Source GDN Posted on Monday, March 08, 2010
Nuwaidrat keep qualifying hopes alive - Feb 15, 2010 (by Yousef Ahmed)
NUWAIDRAT maintained some hopes of qualifying for the second round in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League, after a 85-75 win over Al Ittihad yesterday.
On the first day of the 17th week, which took place at Zain Basketball Arena, Nuwaidrat headed into this game needing a victory to keep their chances alive of booking a berth in the six-team stage [read more]
NUWAIDRAT maintained some hopes of qualifying for the second round in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League, after a 85-75 win over Al Ittihad yesterday.
On the first day of the 17th week, which took place at Zain Basketball Arena, Nuwaidrat headed into this game needing a victory to keep their chances alive of booking a berth in the six-team stage.
Nuwaidrat were spearheaded by their American professional Jamal Holden besides local players Mohammed Nabeel, Hassan Yousef, Ebrahim Jameel, Ali Hassan and captain Sadeq Mahdi.
With one match remaining against Isa Town, Nuwaidrat temporarily moved up to sixth place with 24 points from 17 matches. They are one point ahead of sixth-placed Sitra, who have a match in hand, and two below fifth-placed Isa Town who downed Bahrain Club 96-48 earlier yesterday.
The top four clubs - Al Ahli (30 points), Manama, Muharraq (29 each) and Al Hala (27) - have secured their berths in the second round.
Action continues today with Sitra facing Al Najma in a must-win game for the former.
This will be followed by the week's top clash between Muharraq and Al Ahli at 7.45pm. The 17th week will conclude tomorrow with Manama taking on Al Hala at 7.30pm. All matches will take place at the Zain Basketball Arena. Source GDN Posted on Monday, February 15, 2010 by Rami Hulayyel
Brave Ahli edge past Manama - Feb 12, 2010 (by Patrick Salomon)
AL AHLI pulled off a heart-stopping 72-70 victory over bitter rivals Manama last night in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League.Court general Hussain Shaker buried two pressure-packed free-throws with 11 seconds remaining in the game to lift the defending champions in the nail-biting contest. Ahli squandered a huge 14-point advantage in the final six minutes, but hung on in the end [read more]
AL AHLI pulled off a heart-stopping 72-70 victory over bitter rivals Manama last night in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Court general Hussain Shaker buried two pressure-packed free-throws with 11 seconds remaining in the game to lift the defending champions in the nail-biting contest. Ahli squandered a huge 14-point advantage in the final six minutes, but hung on in the end.
Manama guard Hassan Nairouz made a tough transition lay-up to tie the proceedings at 70-apiece with 23 seconds remaining. But on the ensuing play, Ahmed Abdulaziz fouled Shaker as he drove for the go-ahead basket, and the Ahli point guard coolly sank both charities to put his team ahead by two.
Manama had the ball back for the final possession, but Ahli's resilient defence forced an out-of-bounds play with 1.2 seconds remaining. Abdulaziz received the inbound in the right corner, but he overshot his desperation three-pointer as the final buzzer sounded.
With the result, Ahli claimed their league-leading 14th win in 16 games. They are now in solo first place heading into the league's championship round.
'This was a very important game; thank God for the high level we played,' Shaker told the GDN. 'I had the ball in my hand with the game on the line, and I just focused on making each free throw. We needed them both, and I'm glad we were able to come away with this very difficult win.'
Johnny Antonio Taylor scored 32 points to lead Ahli, although the six-foot, nine-inch American was held to just two in the final quarter. Shaker chipped in with 19, while forward Mohammed Qurban had 12.
'My teammates were looking for me tonight, and my shots were going, but it was a total team effort the whole way,' Taylor said. 'Manama is great opponent, and to get this win at this stage of the season is big. This is just one more game though, and we know we haven't won the title yet; we still have a lot of work ahead.'
After Ahli took a 42-38 lead at the interval, Manama battled back starting the second half and wrested away the lead, 45-44, on a two-handed slam dunk by American import Calvin Warner.
But then Ahli answered with a game-changing 23-5 spurt ending the third and beginning the fourth quarter. Taylor was the catalyst, scoring six straight points that gave them a 50-45 lead. Shaker later added his own heroics with a running three-pointer at the end of quarter three, putting Ahli comfortably ahead, 61-50. A Shaker jumper, a one-handed Taylor tomahawk, and two Qurban free-throws then extended their lead to 67-50 with six minutes to play in the game.
Manama, however, spurred by their loyal band of supporters, gradually inched their way back with a shocking 20-3 run led by Mahmood Ghuloom, Mohammed Najaf and Abdulaziz in the latter half of the period.
A pair of Ghuloom free-throws gave them life, and led to a pair of key Najaf triples - the first bringing them within 11, 56-67, and the second making it 63-68 with 2:35 to play. Abdulaziz then stepped up and made a fearless driving lay-up against the bruising Ahli frontline to cut the deficit to three, 65-68. And after Shaker made two free-throws, Abdulaziz buried a triple to make it 68-70 with 40 seconds to play.
A Manama steal then gave Nairouz his game-tying lay-up with 23 seconds on the clock, but that would be the end of their run, as it paved the way for Shaker's game-winning charity shots in the dying seconds.
Ghuloom and Warner had 15 points apiece to lead Manama in defeat. Nairouz added 14, Najaf 12 and Abdulaziz nine. Manama were playing without top guards Bader Abdulla Malabes and Mohammed Hussain, both of whom were nursing injuries.
STANDINGS (in order of wins, losses, points): 1 Al Ahli* (14, 2, 30); 2 Manama* (13, 3, 29); 3 Muharraq* (13, 3, 29); 4 Al Hala* (11, 5, 27); 5 Isa Town (8, 8, 24); 6 Sitra (7, 9, 23); 7 Nuwaidrat (6, 10, 22); 8 Al Ettihad (5, 11, 21); 9 Al Najma (3, 13, 19); 10 Bahrain Club (0, 16, 16). *Already qualified for championship round, which will comprise six teams playing a double round-robin for four berths in Golden Square semi-finals.
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