Manama see off Al Hala to reach final

Ali Haidar

Manama reached the final of the Khalifa bin Salman Basketball Cup after a second straight victory over Al Hala in the semi-final series at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam last night. Lebanese international Ali Haidar (203-F/C-90, college: Michigan Tech) sizzled with 31 points as Manama, after a faltering start, roared back to claim a 103-87 victory. Manama had defeated Hala 101-88 in the first game last Friday.
Meanwhile, in the other semi-final, Al Ahli kept their final hopes alive by defeating Muharraq 100-66 and taking the series to the decider on Saturday. Muharraq won the first game 89-88. Manama got off to a sedate start, edging ahead 25-24 in the first quarter. They went down 20-27 in the second quarter to trail 45-51 at half-time. Manama regrouped and came out firing after the interval. They erased the deficit in the third quarter (30-21) and put the game in cruise control for a 28-15 domination in the final canto. Haidar, whose contribution included 12 rebounds and two assists, was well-supported by Mohammed Hussain, who scored 18 points, Hasan Nowrooz (17) and Jerai Grant (203-C/F-89, college: Clemson, agency: Octagon Europe) (14). Hala's scoring was led by Kyndall Dykes (192-SG-87, college: New Orleans) (27) and Hussain Jan (21).
This year's Zain Bahrain Basketball League champions Ahli were dominant throughout last night's game against Muharraq. They eased through the first two quarters 23-12, 23-14 to take a commanding 20-point lead at half-time. Ahli faced some resistance in the third quarter but eventually managed to race ahead 29-23 and went on to take the final quarter 25-17. American professional Brandon Brown (201-PF-85, college: CSUSB) was the top scorer for the winners with 35 points which included four three-pointers, 12 rebounds and four assists. His compatriot Dominique Sutton (198-G/F-86, college: NCCU) chipped in with 26 points, including a three-pointer, 13 rebounds and five assists. American Jerome Jordan (215-C-86, college: Tulsa) scored 21 points for Muharraq.
Courtesy of: gdnonline.com

Tags : ALI HAIDAR, AL-MANAMA, BAHRAIN BASKETBALL