Al Ahli wins Khalifa bin Salman Cup

Adrian Uter

Defending champions Al Ahli shattered Manama's hopes of a league-and-cup double by producing a stellar fourth quarter performance to win the 2021-22 Khalifa Bin Salman Cup 84-76 at Khalifa Sports City last night. Jamaican-American Adrian Uter (201-F/C-1984, college: Hofstra, agency: BeoBasket) was the star for Al Ahli with 22 points, combining with the excellent Hisham Sirhan, who netted 20, to put the cup beyond Manama's reach. Manama had started the final strongly, led by their charismatic American star, Devin Ebanks (206-F-1989, college: WVU) - who finished eventually with 26 points - ending the first quarter 22-17. They maintained their lead in the second quarter, fighting off a strong charge by a determined Al Ahli side, ending the second quarter 42-41. But Al Ahli had built up some momentum and they capitalised on it after the halfway point, piling on the pressure as Manama began to make unforced errors. By the time the third quarter ended, Al Ahli had crept ahead 65-59. A six-point lead was always going to be hard for Manama to make up but they tried, manfully, with Mohammed Ameer (PF-1995), who finished with 21 points, proving an able partner to Ebanks. However, Al Ahli continued to build on their advantage and, although, with one minute remaining, Manama had managed to claw their way back to within two points of Al Ahli at 76-78, the defending champions held their nerve and added six more points to their tally in the game's final 60 seconds without letting their opponents score even a single point more. Al Ahli were, doubtless, helped by the fact that they had loud, vociferous support in the form of their fans, who filled up half the stadium. Manama, in contrast, had no fans on hand to support them because their supporters are serving out a three-match ban after an ugly brawl with Muharraq fans following the second playoff for the Zain Bahrain Basketball League ten days ago.
Courtesy of: gdnonline.com

Tags : ADRIAN UTER, AL-AHLI MANAMA, BAHRAIN BASKETBALL