Bahrain beat Qatar to clinch first-ever GBA title

BAHRAIN made history last night after being crowned champions of the Gulf Basketball Association (GBA) Championship for National Teams 2024, which came to an exciting climax in the kingdom. The nationals clinched their first-ever title in the GBA competition following a 73-68 victory over Qatar in the gold medal game, played in front of a jubilant home crowd that packed Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town. The kingdom’s young, superstar tandem of Mustafa Hussain and Muzamil Ameer spearheaded the hosts in the contest, finishing as their leading scorers with 24 and 16 points, respectively. Joining Bahrain and Qatar on the podium last night were Kuwait. The Kuwaitis came away with the bronze medals after defeating Saudi Arabia 80-77 in the game for third place. All three teams were given their respective trophies and medals in the official awards presentation and closing ceremony, attended by General Sports Authority vice-chairman Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the tournament’s supreme organising committee head and advisor to the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS) president Mohammed Al Ajmi, and other high-ranking sports and Bahrain Basketball Association officials. Bahrain led by a commanding 16 points, 62-46, heading into last night’s final quarter but had to stave off one last stand from the Qataris late in the game. A Tyler Harris basket cut the Bahrainis’ lead to 10, 55-65, early in the period, and Harris later scored again to bring them to within 64-69. But Hussain buried two pressure-packed free-throws with just over a minute remaining, and then two more charity shots from Clifton Alexander virtually iced the win with just over 20 seconds to play. Qatar reduced the gap with a Mike Lewis triple in the closing seconds, but they ultimately conceded in the end. Hussain was on fire from beyond the three-point arc, burying five-out-of-six attempts in the game. Ameer had five rebounds and five assists to go with his scoring output, while Alexander finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Mohammed Ameer chipped in with 10 points for the Bahrainis as their only other player in double figures. The rest of the kingdom’s squad, coached by Jad El Hajj from Lebanon, who were a part of the title-winning team were captain Maitham Jameel, Ahmed Salman, Mohammed Buallay, Ali Hussain, Subah Hussain, Ali Aqeel, Ali Jaber, and Ali Shukrallah. Lewis had 14 to lead Qatar in the losing effort. Moustafa Fouda added 13 while Harris and Mohamed Hashim Abbasher finished with nine apiece. The Qataris had the early lead in the game but a Hussain three-pointer tied it at 11-apiece. A Salman triple in transition then helped the hosts take a 19-16 edge at the end of the first. That ignited a 10-0 run for Bahrain, fuelled by Hussain, who nailed a corner three-pointer to give them a 26-16 advantage in the second period. They held on to their advantage although Qatar stayed close, and a floater by Fouda got them to within 30-34. Bahrain responded with five unanswered points, including a Hussain fadeaway basket, putting them up 39-30 heading into the half. Bahrain extended their lead in the third, with back-to-back triples from Muzamil Ameer and Jameel making it 47-30. They then took their biggest lead of the night of 18 points following an Alexander charity shot.
Courtesy of: gdnonline.com