AL AHLI Champions - Apr 16, 2009 AL AHLI romped past Muharraq 75-59 last night to emphatically clinch their 13th national title and dethrone the defending champions with a sweep of the best-of-three finals series in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League. Sayed Hashim's outstanding play on both ends of the floor highlighted a complete team effort from the victors, who were in control of the game from the opening tip. Hashim hounded Muharraq's star forward Mohammed Hassan for 40 minutes and anchored Ahli's vacuum-tight defence, which forced their rivals into one of their worst performances all season. Bruiser Mohammed Qurban scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures for the newly crowned champions. Former NBA first-round pick Johnny Antonio Taylor chipped in with 15, while Hashim added 13 and court general Hussain Shaker 12. Ahli clinched its second title in three years with yesterday's game two triumph. Their previous win in 2007 featured a different professional player and head coach, but had the same core group of local talent. 'Many people doubted us, but our players responded and showed everyone that we are number one in Bahrain,' Ahli head coach Aqeel Milad told the GDN after post-game celebrations. 'We are grateful to each other for what they have achieved; our players deserve to be the champions,' added assistant coach Talal Mousa. Ahli went ahead by as high as their winning margin of 16 points in the pivotal fourth quarter, when they wrested momentum for good and frustrated Muharraq's players both on the floor and in their heads. Smelling blood in the water, they went in for the kill and their wounded rivals had no answer. Maytham Jameel put Ahli in front by double figures, 59-48, with a three-pointer to start the period, before Shaker helped maintain the margin with two free-throws midway through. And after Muharraq captain Ahmed Al Doy picked up his fifth foul, it seemed that Ahli were destined to take the crown. Taylor extended Ahli's lead to 66-52 with a turn-around jumper before Muharraq's Mohammed Abdulmajeed answered with a triple to cut the deficit to 55-66 with two minutes to play. Hassan then squandered a golden opportunity to narrow the gap further with a pair of missed charities, and after teammate Ali Abbas scored on a jumper to make it 57-66, Hashim replied with an uncontested lay-up off a Qurban outlet that caught the Muharraq defence napping in their own half. Qurban later rubbed salt in their wounds with a triple that pegged the final score moments before the final buzzer, which signalled a frenzy among the hundreds of Ahli supporters who later stormed the court from the stands. 'I've been playing professional basketball for 12 years; this is my first championship and it feels great,' Taylor said. 'This win is for our fans. My teammates have been incredible; they play with so much heart and determination. We did it as a team, like a fist.' Both teams battled back and forth for the opening two quarters. Jameel provided an early spark off the bench, as Ahli moved ahead 21-16 at the end of the first, when neither Hassan nor Abdulmajeed were making their presence felt for Muharraq. In a low-scoring second, Muharraq managed to take the lead but two straight lay-ups form Hashim - one off a steal in an apparent foul on Hassan - gave them a 38-31 cushion at the interval. Ahli later went up by as many as 11 in the third, when Muharraq were beginning to show signs of fatigue. American import Rah-Shaun Roberts, who was single-handedly carrying his team in the game, made a jumper that made it 48-56 to end the third, giving Muharraq hope heading into the final canto. But it was not meant to be, as Ahli displayed their superiority over the last 10 minutes. 'It was a great show from all our guys,' said Hashim. 'We're overjoyed to have regained our title after losing to Muharraq in the semi-finals last year.' Added veteran forward Ahmed Malallah: 'Everyone was focused on getting this win. We wanted to end it tonight and not have to play a third game, and it's a great thing we closed it out.' Roberts had 22 points for Muharraq, coached by Wayne Mendezona of the US. Abdulmajeed had 16 and Essa Ebrahim 12, while Hashim held Hassan to just six markers. SourceGDN Manama win Cup Final - Feb 8, 2009 MANAMA ran riot against overmatched Nuwaidrat last night to win the Zain Bahrain Basketball Cup 80-53 at the Um Al Hassam sports complex. The victors flexed their muscles in a lopsided second half, turning up the defence and taking advantage of their youth and speed to blow a close game wide open and build leads as big as 29 points. Manama capitalised on a 25-4 run to end the third period and begin the fourth. Guard Hassan Ebrahim came off the bench to spark the rally, sinking three successive three-point bombs that effectively took the life out of a frustrated Nuwaidrat squad. Manama's national team stars Mahmood Ghuloom and Mohammed Hussain led all scorers with 18 and 16 points, respectively, in the game. 'This is a very exciting win for us,' Manama head coach Salman Ramadhan told the GDN during post-game celebrations. 'It was a game of two halves. We adjusted out defence in the second - we stopped them from what they wanted to do. We capitalised on our defensive pressure and had some good fast break chances, and the three three-pointers from Hassan really inspired us.'This championship is for our fans; it is the simplest gift we can give them.' American professional Jarred Merrill (206-F-81, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Oklahoma Christian) played a key role for Manama, controlling the paint and holding Nuwaidrat counterpart Jamal Holden to just 12 points. Merrill himself finished with only 11 markers, but he also took down 18 rebounds. The rest of the Manama team picked up the scoring duties, with only two of their 12-man roster failing to get onto the score sheet.The back-to-back champions began the game with guns blazing, racing out to a 15-7 lead with all five of their starters contributing at least a basket apiece in the opening minutes. But Nuwaidrat eventually shook off the jitters and closed the first quarter with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Sadeq Mahdi triple that made it 15-14. I Hussain Taqi then injected life into Manama's transition game in the second period, threading two precision passes for a pair of easy baskets by Hussain and Ghuloom, and also connecting on a triple from the top of the key. Nuwaidrat, however, managed to keep things close behind Ebrahim Khabaaz and Murad Ebrahim, as Manama held a 38-32 edge going into the break. The second half then played out completely different from the first, and Manama had virtually sealed the win by the end of the third having stretched their lead to 16 (63-47) and holding momentum on their side. The cushion continued to balloon in the final canto, with Ghuloom and Hussain both displaying their outside marksmanship and keeping Manama emphatically in control. Both teams' benches then played out the final five minutes of the contest. 'We played a very strong game today,' said Ghuloom. 'It's a great victory for us; I'm speechless.' Ebrahim pitched in with 14 points for the winners, while Taqi added 10 while also dishing out seven assists. Manama held Nuwaidrat to a woeful 26 per cent shooting from the field (17 of 65), and themselves made 43 per cent of their field goals including an impressive nine triples. 'Manama is not just about one person; we came out today with a total team effort,' said Merrill. 'We want this game to carry over to the league. We want everybody to see that this is what they're going to get every time they play us.' Khabaaz had 12 points, 10 in the first half, to share team-high honours with Holden. None of the other Nuwaidrat players scored in double figures. |
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