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Arab
Club Championships Standings
Quarterfinals
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Arab Club Championships Standings
Stage One
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Al Riyadi defeated Arab Club Championship 2007 crown |
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Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut 2007 |
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 Asia-Basket
All-Arab Club Championships 2007 Awards
- Tournament's MVP:
Ahmad Ismail (201-F-76) - Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB)
- Best 3-point shooter:
Tony Madison (197-G-71) - Ittihad Jeddah (KSA)
- Tournament's scorer:
Curtis Haywood(198-G-75) - Al Ahli Jeddah
# All Asia-Basket 20th ACC 1st team:
Tony Madison (197-G-71) - Ittihad Jeddah (KSA)
Curtis Haywood(198-G-75) - Al Ahli Jeddah (KSA)
Ace Custis (202-F-74) - Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB)
Ahmad Ismail - Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB)
Oyedeji Olumide (208-C/F-81) - Kuwait
Club (KUW)
# All Asia-Basket 20th ACC 2nd team:
Boney Watson (183-G-79) - Al Arabi Club (QAT)
Andre Pitts (185-G-73) - Al Sharjah
Club (UAE)
Jamel Staten (198-F-83) - Al Ahli Jeddah (KSA)
Jarred Merril(206-C-81) - Al Ahli Jeddah (KSA)
Joe Vogel(211-C-73) - Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB)
Lebanon's
Al Riyadi Retains 20th ACC Crown
Al-Riadi of
Lebanon won by forfeiture over Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli
yesterday in a tumultuous finals in the ART-sponsored
20th Arab Basketball Federation Championship at the
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
The officials from the organizing Saudi Basketball
Federation stopped the game with still seven minutes to
play when the highly partisan fans began throwing
objects to the floor and Al-Riadi ahead by 22 points,
90-68.
Prince Talal ibn Badr, president of SBF, awarded the
championship trophy to Riadi during the prize
distribution ceremony. Named the tournament's Best
Player was
Ahmad Ismail (201-F-76) of the champion team. Al-Ittihad's
Tony Madison claimed the Best 3-Point Shooter award and
Ahli's Curtis Haywood the Highest Scorer plum.
Using an efficient outside shooting the Lebanese
dominated the game all the way to successfully defend
the title in the tournament where they lost just one
game, a meaningless 83-71 defeat by Morocco's Raja'a in
the quarterfinals, en route to the finals. The finals
was, well, a mismatch of a contest with the powerhouse
Riadi showing they are in a different league and
building a 23-point lead, 67-44, at the half.
Ahli, who reached the finals after beating archrival Al-Ittihad
97-94 in the second semifinal game on Sunday, did their
best to try and mount a challenge against the visitors.
But they fell short as the Lebanese shot an amazing 58
per cent from the field.
Ittihad beat Kuwait of Kuwait 95-92 in the battle for
third place in the first game.
Tony Madison scored a game-high 33 points including two
free throws that guaranteed the win for Ittihad. Priest
Lauderdale added 21 pints and Ali Maghrabi made 19
points.
Madison made the two foul shots in the last 16 seconds
to put Ittihad to safety 95-92 after Kuwait had come to
within 93-92 in the game where the sides traded baskets
with impunity in the last three minutes.
The first half ended with Ittihad ahead at 53-49. Mutari
led Kuwait, who lost to Riadi in the semifinals, with 19
points. Brandon Crump contributed 18 points and 10
rebounds while former Ittihad player Shamgod tossed in
15 points.
By: Umar Abdul Salam, Arab News
Al
Riyadi & Al Ahli in the final of 20th ACC
Defending
champions Al-Riadi of Lebanon moved within a victory of
retaining their title with an easy triumph 99-73 over
Kuwait of Kuwait last night in the semifinals of the
ART-sponsored 20th Arab Basketball Confederation
Championship at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium,
Lebanese will meet Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia after they
shocked their neigbours Al Ittihad in the other game in
semis.
In reaching the finals the Lebanese displayed tremendous
firepower, jumping out to a 37-15 first quarter lead.
The Lebanese team's import
Ace Custis (202-F-74, agency:
Higher Vision Sports, college:
Virginia Tech) and Alvin Sims scored 34 and 24
points to anchor an unforgiving offense that beat the
lights out of the overmatched Kuwaitis. Ismael Ahmed
added 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for
Lebanon.
Al-Riadi scored eight three-point shots in the first
quarter where Custas hit four-for-four from beyond the
arc to finish with 13 points in the period. Sims poured
in 10 in the period.
Riadi sat on a 25-point lead at the half, 57-32, and the
outcome was never in doubt after that.
Shamgod led Kuwait with 18 points.
On the other hand,
For the
first time in its long and prosperous history, Al Ahli
from Saudi Arabia qualified to final of the Arab Clubs
Championship held in Jeddah, by beating its archrival,
Al Ittihad, 97-94, in front of an 8,000 persons packed
gym. Al Ahli lead by "the wizard" coach Toni Vujanic,
created this achievement thanks to the efforts of Jamel
Staten who scored 28pts, 14rebs & 4ass, followed by
Curtis Haywood with 19pts & 9ass then Jarred Merrill who
was affected by an early foul trouble with 11pts, 6rebs
& 4ass. It's worth noting that Curtis Haywood's steal 6
seconds before then end and then the conversion of his
free throws secured his team the well deserved victory.
Al Ahli will now face title holder, Al Riyadi, in a
repeat of their second round game.
Meantime, Andre Pitts of UAE's Sharjah leads the race
for the Best Player award with 147.26 point average
performance followed by Jarred Merrill of Al-Ahli with
142.89 and Boney Watson of Qatar's Al-Arabia with
127.56. For the Best Scorer award, Pitts and Watson also
set the pace with 154 and 147 points so far with Kurtis
Haywood of Ahli in third place with 142 points.
Ittihad's Tony Madison and Haywood are tied for the lead
in the race for Best 3-Point Shooter plum.
By: Umar Abdul Salam - Arab News
Day
9 of 20th ACC
Archrivals Al-Ittihad and
Al-Ahli sealed an intriguing semifinal showdown while Kuwait of Kuwait
won a knockout game in overtime against UAE's Sharjah 98-87 at the close
of the quarterfinal round yesterday in the ART sponsored 20th Arab
Basketball Confederation Championship at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal
Stadium here.
Ahli won in a do-or-die situation against Al-Jazirah of Egypt 82-80 to
qualify second from Group 2 and now meet Ittihad in another no-tomorrow
final four match at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Ittihad qualified first from Group 1 despite losing their final
quarterfinal game against erstwhile winless Al-Arabi 94-71.
The match was an Ittihad giveaway given that they rested their starters
for the crucial semifinal battle in the tournament that ends on Monday
with the final matches. Defending champions Al-Riadi from Lebanon did an
Ittihad also resting their first liners in an 83-71 defeat by Morocco's
Raja'a.
Despite the defeat, their first in three games, Riadi qualified first
from Group 2 to meet the second semifinalist from Group 1, Kuwait.
Kuwait and Sharjah entered the game with identical 1-1 win-loss records.
Egypt jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first period by repeatedly
scoring in the paint. Ahli's determination evened the score by the end
of the quarter 20-20. Egypt went back to their game plan and at half
time led by eight 43 to 35. The third quarter ended with Egypt leading
by five 67-62.
Baskets were traded till there were three minutes left in the fourth
quarter. After being down 8 points Ahli tied the game. Till the last
minute it went back and forth. Waleed Al Medani hit 2 foul shots; Egypt
scored again, another foul sent Jamel Staten to the line. He converted
giving Ahli a 2 point lead with 4 ticks left and time ran out. Ahli's
Kurtis Heywood was the hero of the night scoring 31 points and played
half the game with 4 fouls and didn't foul out. Jarred Merrill had 20
points 9 rebounds with 2 steals and 2 assists. Jamel Staten had 17
points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Egypt's Ahmed Mohamed Al Bari had 23
points and Ahmed Mohamed Saqer had 15, and Mohamed Muneer 13.
Shamgod took matters into his own hands as Kuwait wiggled out of a tight
battle with Sharjah in the five-minute extra period. Shamgod scored 22
points. Regulation play ended 83-83.
By: Umar Abdul Salam - Arab News
Day
8 of 20th ACC
Defending champions Al-Riadi
from Lebanon and Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad guaranteed themselves at
least a tie for one of two semifinal berths from their groups by scoring
their second straight victories yesterday in the ART sponsored Arab
Basketball Confederation Championship at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal
Stadium here.
Al-Riadi ran out 106-92 winners over another Saudi team, Al-Ahli in
Group 2 where UAE's Sharjah bounced back from an opening quarterfinal
round defeat with a 93-87 victory over Qatar's Al-Arabi in the second
game yesterday.
Ittihad saved the day for the Kingdom when the brought down Kuwait of
Kuwait 97-89 in a Group 1 encounter.
Al-Jazirah of Egypt brought down Morocco's Raja'a 84-64 in a Group 2
battle between teams who dropped their first games in the round of
eight.
The Egyptians outscored Morocco every quarter on their way to the win.
Morocco had a poor shooting night making only one three point shot out
of 15 attempts. Egypt's high scorers were Ahmed Mohamed Al Bari with 16
points and Rami Talat Genaidi with 15 points.
For Morocco Hilal Munnir had 17 points.
The Sharjah-Arabi game was a cliffhanger. Qatar started strong leading
most of the first period finishing up by 9 23 -14. Their lead dwindled
down to 5 by halftime 46-41. The duo of
Andre Pitts (185-G-73, college:
Huston-Tillotson) and Wayne Powell combined for 59 points. Pitts had
32 and Powell 27. They hit some great shots in the last 2 minuets
sealing the victory for Sharjaah. Al Arabi's Musa Daoud had 20 and Boney
Watson had 17 points for the night. Arabi absorbed their second straight
defeat.
Riadi pulled away in the fourth quarter to win on the shoulders of Ace
Custus, who scored three of his six three-point baskets in the period.
He finished the game with 37 points. Ahli stayed close and were down by
three at the end of first quarter 25-22. At the half, Lebanon led by two
53-51. Good passing and inside play made the difference for Lebanon who
received 23 points from Alvin Sims and 19 from Ismail Ahmed. Ahli's
Kurtis Heywood scored 32 and Jamel Staten 20.
By: Umar Ubdul Salam - Arab News
Day
7 of 20th ACC
Tournament favorites and
defending champions Al-Riadi of Lebanon and Kingdom teams Al-Ahli and
Al-Ittihad claimed victories at the start of the quarterfinals yesterday
in the AR-sponsored 20th Arab Basketball Federation Championship at the
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
Al-Riadi stamped their class in a 99-91 triumph over Al-Jazirah from
Egypt as four men scored in double figures in the Group 2 contest.
Riadi's high scorer was Ismail Ahmed with 31 points followed by Ace
Custas with 29, Omar Al-Turk with 11 and Ali Mahmoud with 10.
Ahli and Ittihad, bracketed in Group 1 and Group 2, took different
routes on the way to their initial wins in the round of eight where the
top two from each group advance into the semifinals after the group
round robin.
Ahli beat Raja'a from Morocco 86-74 while Ittihad needed a five-minute
extension to win against UAE Al-Sharjah 95-89. The game was tied 80-80
at the end of regulation play.
In another Group 1 game later in the day, Kuwait of Kuwait defeated Al-Arabi
from Qatar 76-76 to join Ittihad for the early leadership in the group.
In the first quarter the Egyptians led by one point 21-20 only to trail
Lebanon 46-42 at the turn. The defending champions then broke away in
third quarter scoring 29 points in the period against only 11 by the
Egyptian.
In the back and forth game Lebanon came out on top even though Egypt
scored 38 points in the forth period. For Egypt Ahmed Al Bari had 22 and
Wael Alsayeed 17 points.
It was a tight first half. After trading baskets in the first quarter
Ahli led by 26-25. They finished the half up 53-48. Ahli coasted to
victory playing their big men and enjoying good outside shooting. Kurtis
Heywood was Ahli's top man with 31, Jarred Merrill 24 and Jamel Staten
added 18. From Morocco Aumsa Adnan had 25 points.
In easily the game of the night, Ittihad dug deep in their arsenal to
overcome Sharjah.
UAE seized a 23-13 lead at the end of the first period and 44-42 at
halftime. Ittihad wrested the initiative in the third period 66-61, but
the visitors kept coming back.
At the end of regulation play, the score was 80-80 with 16 seconds left
and Ittihad's Priest Lauderdale on the line with two foul shots. He
missed them both and time ran out.
In overtime Tony Madison sank five foul shots to save the day for
Ittihad, and along with some good defense they were lucky to win. Andre
Pitts had a great night before he fouled out. He hit eight three-point
shots and scored 36 points for Sharjah. Marcus Brown added 22. For
Ittihad Tony Madison had 29 and veteran Ali Maghrabi 20.
Brandon Crump (208-C-82, college:
Tennessee) made 22 points and hauled down 11 rebounds for Kuwait.
Olumide Oyedeji added 11 points and 16 rebounds.
By: Umar Abdul Salam - Arab News
Day
6 of 20th ACC
Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad
finished top of their group with a 93-63 victory over Al-Seeb from Oman
while Al-Jazirah of Egypt won a knockout battle with Iraq's Al-Hela for
the last qualifying spot from the Third Group yesterday in the ART
sponsored 20th Arab Basketball Confederation Championship at the Prince
Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium here.
The eight quarterfinalists, two from each of the four groups, were
spread out in two groups of four teams each with the top two from each
group after a round robin to advance into the semifinals. The
quarterfinals start today with a four-game schedule.
Oman finished the first quarter ahead by one 23 to 22. Oman quickly ran
out of steam and the momentum shifted to Ittihad, who won all three
preliminary games. Ittihad started hitting from outside, then went
inside and ended the half up 51 -37. The starters took a rest and the
bench took over. Calvin Warner scored his 23 points in the first half
and Tony Madison hit his 19 in playing only 25 minutes.
For Al-Seeb Jon Ajak hit 30 points.
The first game on the last day of the preliminary round saw Al-Riadi
from Lebanon breeze past UAE's Sharjah 107-92. Lebanon had six players
in double figures, Ace Custas 25, Ismail Ahmed 22,
Joe Vogel 21, Alvin Sims 17 to name a few. Most agree that Lebanon has
the strongest team in the competition. UAE played well in the second
half matching baskets but could not pull even. Andre Pitts poured in 29
points and Markus Brown 25 for UAE. Lebanon had 60% field goal against
48 % for UAE.
Games today (Quarterfinals)2 p.m. - Al-Jazirah (Egypt) vs. Al-Riadi
(Lebanon); 4 p.m. - Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) vs. Sharjah (UAE); 6 p.m.
- Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia) vs. Raja'a (Morocco); 8 p.m.- Kuwait (Kuwait)
vs. Al-Arabi (Qatar)
By: Umar Abdel Salam - Arab News
Day
5 of 20th ACC
Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli and
Kuwait from Kuwait qualified first from their group into the
quarterfinals by scoring their third straight wins yesterday in the
ART-sponsored Arab Basketball Confederation Championship at the Prince
Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
Ahli scored a procedural 83-81 victory over Al-Arabi from Qatar in the
Fourth Group of the competition that concludes the preliminary round
games today.
Despite the defeat Arabi qualified second from the group with a 2-1
win-loss record. The two other teams in the group Al Yarmouk of Yemen
and Delasal of Palestine both lost their first two games.
Kuwait kept their perfect record in the First Group with an 89-62
triumph over Ittihad from Syria in the second game yesterday. Raja'a of
Morocco became the second qualifier from the First Group by winning a
must-win game against Maktabah from Sudan 121-67.
While doing their part of the bargain Raja'a got a lift from Kuwait.
Going into yesterday's action, Ittihad and Raja's were tied on 1-1.
In the first period Morocco scored 31 against 11 and set the tone for
the game. The second quarter score was 59 - 31 Morocco. By the third,
they had 86 to 48 and kept the pressure to finish with plenty to spare.
Aumsa Adnan poured in 32 for Morocco, while Kalifa Mustafa added 20. For
Sudan William Mills had 14 points. Morocco shot 61 % and Sudan only 42 %
from the field.
Kuwait's game against Syria was a virtual walk in the park. Kuwait led
29-11 after the first period and 52-20 at the half. Kuwait's big men
dominated in the paint and their starters were able to rest in the
fourth quarter. Kuwait's top scorers were Olumide with 23 points and
Brandon Crump with 18. For Syria Salah Abdul Kareem had 25 points. In
first quarter play Ahli dominated and led all the way finishing 29-18.
Qatar cut the lead by halftime to four points. Ahli led 49-45.
In the third period Ahli added four more to their lead, but Al-Arabi
pushed hard in the fourth and came close in a game that seemed nobody
wanted to win.
For Ahli
Jarred Merrill (206-F-81, college:
Oklahoma Christian) had 29 points and seven rebounds and Jamel
Staten 18 and seven rebounds.
Qatar's high scorers were Boney Watson with 27 points and John Jones
with 22.
By: Umar Abdel Salam - Arab News
Day
4 of 20th ACC
The Kingdom's Al-Ittihad
rolled to their second straight victory against Al-Hela of Iraq 85-70 as
the preliminary round action continued yesterday in the ART sponsored
Arab Basketball Confederation Championship at the Prince Abdullah
Al-Faisal stadium here.
Led by Tony Madison who scored 25 points and had 7 assists Ittihad were
in control all evening. Priest Lauderdale added 20 points and pulled
down 11 rebounds for Ittihad.
Iraq's Franj Rashin made 18 points and 11 rebounds.
In yesterday's first game, title holders Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut from
Lebanon offered a hint of their keenness to retain the championship in a
102-75 rout of Boufrik from Algeria.
In first half action, Algeria stayed close. They were down by 7 after
the first quarter and 12 at halftime. Lebanon had 50 Algeria had 38 at
the break. After the half Lebanon pulled out their guns and started
firing Lebanon and had five players in double figures. The defending
champions also hit 17 three-point shots in the game. Ismail Ahmad was
high man with 23 points for Riadi, who also received 22 points including
6 three-pointers from
Omar Turk (186-G-81, college:
Dawson Coll.). Algeria's Fram Hussain had 17 and Hana Walid 16
points. Both teams were close in percentages. Lebanon had 21 turnovers
and 22 for Algeria. The three-point shooting made the difference.
Lebanon made 17 and Algeria only 8.
Al-Jazirah from Egypt destroyed Seeb from Oman 106-64 in the third game.
Egypt started slowly and was down 19-12 at the end of the first period.
By half time it was Egypt 48 Oman 37. The big men for Egypt went to the
basket undefended. Egypt pulled away for the rest of the game. High man
for Egypt was Wael Badr Al Sayeed with 28 while Rami Talat Genaidi added
17 points. For Oman Jon Ajak led the way with 22 points.
Kuwait from Kuwait edged out Raja'a from Morocco 81-79 in the last game
on Saturday. At the end of the first quarter Morocco had the lead 23
-17. At half time it was Morocco 41 and Kuwait 38. Kuwait took the lead
by one 59-58 to end the third period. It was a real battle to the end
with Kuwait winning by two.
The high scorers for Kuwait were Willmeed Madija and Brandon Crump, each
with 20 points. Abdullah Assaraf contributed 17 Shamgod 16.
Morocco's high scorers were Aumsa Adanan and Ahallan Esham, who each
scored 12 points. Kalifa Mustifaha, Fenjawi Murant and Dudi Tieam each
scored 11 points.
Meantime, Al-Hela from Iraq defeated Seeb 87-60 in the last game Friday
night.
The Iraqis started strong and stayed strong. Iraq led the Omani side
20-16. By halftime it was 48-29 for Iraq who went unchallenged in the
paint. Both teams shot 51% for the game.
Iraq made 31 baskets and Oman only 19. Frani Rashin had 31 points, and
Dejoge Boslofa 23 for Iraq. Oman's high men were William Oshik and Jon
Ajak with 14 points each.
By: Umar Abdel Salam - Arab News
Day
3 of 20th ACC
Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli took
De La Salle from Palestine in a breeze 92-53 last night for their second
straight victory in preliminary round play in the ART sponsored 20th
Arab Basketball Confederation Championship at the Prince Abdullah
Al-Faisal stadium here.
The game was a slow starter with neither team buying a basket after
three minutes passed. By the end of the first quarter Ahli were up 20-
14. At halftime Ahli had doubled Palestine's score 51-25 to open the way
for a blowout. Ahli shot 63% from the field against 41% for De La Salle.
Ahli's Jarred Merrill led all scorers with 21 points, and Curtis Haywood
had 20. For De La Salle Amar Norfil had 17.
In yesterday's first game, Al-Ittihad from Syria beat Maktabah from
Sudan 114 -77. Syria took the lead early in the first period 37- 19.
Sudan settled down and outscored Syria in the second by four points but
remained down by 14 points 57-43. In the third Syria hiked their lead to
20 points, 84-64. Syria took the runaway game and they needed the win
after dropping their first game. Syria's
Kevin Jolley (197-F-82, agency:
Pro Management Agency, college:
Quinnipiac) had 31 points and Lamine Had 21. Sudan's William Mills
had 24 and Obri Simon 15. Syria shot 68% and Sudan only 46% from the
field.
Al-Arabi from Qatar beat Yarmouk from Yemen 107-87 to notch their second
win in as many outings. Qatar controlled the center with a slew of big
men led by Ben Walker, who made 20 points.
Boney Watson topscored for Qatar with 47 points. Yemen's Tardik Okee had
28, and Suliman Iberihim 26.
Today's games will feature Bufrik from Algeria against Lebanon Al-Riadi
at 4 p.m., Al-Jazirah of Egypt against Al-Seeb from Oman at 6 p.m. and
the Kingdom's Ittihad against Al-Hela from Iraq at 8 p.m.
By: Umar Abdel Salam - Arab News
Day
2 of 20th ACC
Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad
scored an emphatic 86-66 victory over Egypt's Al-Jazirah last night in
the 20th Arab Basketball Championship at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal
sports complex here.
Ittihad started slowly and were down by 8 points at the end of the first
quarter 18 -10.
Ittihad came out shooting in the second making 7 threes courtesy of Adil
Al-Johani with 4 and
Tony Madison (197-G-71, college:
New Orleans) with 3. By halftime Ittihad led 41 - 39. The teams had
committed 28 fouls between them, Egypt 16 and Ittihad 12. Ittihad didn't
pull away until the final 4 minutes of play.
Ittihad's defense wore the Egyptians down and the Jeddah-based cagers
won pulling away.
Madison had 29 points and was perfect from the foul line 13 for 13,
Priest Lauderdale and Calvin Warner each made 13 points, while Adil Al
Johani had 12 for Ittihad. Jazirah's high men were Rami Talat Genaidi
18, and Ahmed Mohammed Al-Bari 16. Jazirah committed 31 fouls to
Ittihad's 20. In the first game, Al-Sharjah from the UAE beat Bufrik
from Algeria 80-63. UAE led by one 16 to 15 after the first quarter of
play. The teams traded baskets fiercely with over 10 lead changes in the
first half. Each team scored 20 points in the second period. The third
quarter started with UAE 36 and Algeria 35. After three periods only
four points separated the teams with UAE leading 54 - 51.
The fourth told the story. UAE broke away scoring 25 points in the
period and holding Algeria to only 12. The big difference was the
three-point shooting where UAE made 9 and Algeria only 3. UAE pulled
down 44 rebounds Algeria only 27. High men for UAE were Andre Pitts 25,
Markus Brown 24. For Algeria Sayeed Nabil had 16 and Fham Hussain and
Eid Soufeain each made 13.
The fourth game Thursday night pitted Al-Dalasal from Palestine against
Al-Arabi from Qatar.
In the first quarter the Qataris showed their dominance and took a 13
point lead 28 - 15 over Palestine. The second period was different and
both teams scored only 15 points each. Trading baskets and turning the
ball over closed out the half with Qatar still up by 13. In the third
period, Qatar went all out and outscored Palestine 30 to 8, leading 73 -
38. Al Arabi from Qatar walked away with the easy win 87 -53 to join
opening day winners Raja'a from Morocco, Al-Kuwait from Kuwait and
Kingdom team Al-Ahli.
By: Umar Abdel Salam - Arab News
Day
1 of 20th ACC
The 20th Arab Basketball
Championship started yesterday at the Prince Abdullah Al Fasial sports
complex in Jeddah. In first game action Raja'a from Morocco jumped out
to an early lead against Ittihad from Syria on the way to a 76-66
victory.
Four fast breaks and two three-point shots had Morocco up 12 points in
the first quarter. Syria fought back and cut the lead to 7 points by the
end of the period 25-18. Morocco passed well and got some inside baskets
during the second period. They built up an 18-point lead, but lost some
ground and finished the half with a nine-point lead 42 to 33. After
three quarters Syria was down 13 points 58 to 45. Syria fought well and
pulled within six points with two minuets left in the game but was
outclassed down the stretch. Kalifa Mustafah was the high man for
Morocco with 24 points, and Aumsa Adnan had 21. For Syria, Kevin
Lawejolly scored 23 points.
Game 2 was a blowout for Al-Kuwait from Kuwait over Al Maktabah from
Sudan 107-53. Kuwait had six players in double figures with Usama Farhan
Mubark leading all scorers with 23. American Shamgod, the former Ittihad
standout, only played 27 minutes and had 10 points, 5 steals and 5
assists. Kuwait shot 63% against Sudan's 41%. Sudan had 22 turnovers.
Their high man was William Mills with 21.
Al-Ahli, one of two teams from the Kingdom, started slow in the third
game and was down seven points in the first. They evened the score and
went up by the end of the period 23 -18. At the half Ahli led by 14
points 50 -36. Yemen battled hard and cut the lead to six by the end of
the third, 66-60. Yemen was playing with only one import player, backed
up by a young team and was outclassed by Ahli. The final score was 86
-76 for Ahli. Ahli's high man was
Jamel Staten (198-G-83, college:
Minn.St.-Mankato) with 29. For Yemen, Tarik Okaid had 22.
By: Umar Abdel Salam - Arab News
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