Manama outplay Ahli to close in on league title

DEFENDING champions Manama continued to have their way against Al Ahli last night as they moved one victory away from clinching the title in the 2023-24 Zain Bahrain Basketball League. Manama outclassed their bitter rivals 89-76 to take a commanding two-game lead in their best-of-five championship series, being played at Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town. Sir'Dominic Pointer (198-G/F-1992, college: St.John's) was on fire for the victors in the first half when he grabbed 21 points en route to finishing with a game-high 26. The American import nearly had a triple-double as he also took down seven rebounds and dished out nine assists, while registering five steals. Manama will now be looking to close out the finals and be crowned league champions for the second successive season with a win in game three tomorrow. Ahli will be battling to stay alive and extend their title fight to a fourth game, which will be played, if needed, on Sunday. Manama are gunning for their 25th league crown while Ahli are playing for their 20th. With last night’s result, Manama remained unbeaten against Ahli this campaign, taking all five of their meetings to date. Four other Manama players finished in double figures in their victory yesterday. Big men Travin Thibodeaux (203-F-1996, college: New Orleans) and Mohammed Ameer each had 14 markers, while backcourt mates Salman Ahmed and Ali Hussain contributed 13 apiece. Ahli were paced by Ennis James (201-F/G-1990, college: LBSU, agency: Diamond Sports) who had 18 points and 11 assists, while fellow-professional Moultrie Arnett (208-C-1990, college: MSU, agency: Slash Sports) chipped in with 16 points and 10 boards. Ahmed Alderazi had 14 in the loss. Ahli took a 14-11 lead with a Moultrie lay-up midway through the first quarter, but Manama then went on a 15-4 run to power ahead 26-18 before ending the first period up 31-26. They never looked back from there. They enjoyed their biggest advantage of the night of 16, 59-43, with a Sir'Dominic Pointer slam dunk, late in the second and then an acrobatic lay-up from their star man right before the half gave them a 61-47 cushion heading into the locker rooms. In the last two periods, Manama maintained a comfortable gap, and each time Ahli threatened, they responded right away. The victors took a 76-63 lead into the final frame, where Ahli got no closer than seven points.
Courtesy of: gdnonline.com