Superleague Round 5: Leader Al Shurtah lose to Nift Al-Janoub

There are only two more rounds left in the Regular Season in Superleague. Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

Al Shurtah (3-1) recorded its first loss in Baghdad on Tuesday night. Hosts were edged by ninth ranked Nift Al-Janoub (2-2) 77-76. Nift Al-Janoub held Al Shurtah to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. The best player for the winners was international guard Jasim Al-Saeed (192-95) who scored 27 points and 7 rebounds. Abbas Alqarnawi chipped in 18 points. International guard Hassan Abdullah (190-94) produced 27 points and 5 rebounds for the hosts. Nift Al-Janoub moved-up to seventh place. Al Shurtah at the other side dropped to the third position with one game lost. They share it with Al-Tadamoun and Al Mina. Nift Al-Janoub are looking forward to face Ghaz Al-Shamal (#8) in Kirku in the next round. Al Shurtah will play at home against Zakho (#6) and is hoping to win this game.
Undefeated leader Duhok delivered the fifth consecutive victory. This time they beat 8th ranked Al Hilla (1-3) 94-90. American guard Chris Johnson (192-91, college: St.Catharine) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 30 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. Omar Alazawi contributed with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Croatian guard Hrvoje Puljko (193-83) answered with 34 points (!!!) for Al Hilla. Undefeated Duhok (5-0) have an impressive series of five victories in a row. Newly promoted Duhok maintains first place with a perfect record of 5 victories in a row. Al Hilla lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the ninth position with three games lost. Duhok will play against Al-Tadamoun (#4) in Najef in the next round. Al Hilla will play at home against Al Kahraba (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked Al Kahraba (0-4) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 82-62 loss to sixth ranked Al-Tadamoun (3-1) in Baghdad on Thursday evening. R.J. McGhee stepped up and scored 28 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners. Al-Tadamoun's coach used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Ali Saeed responded with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Al-Tadamoun moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Shurtah and Al Mina. Al Kahraba lost their fourth game in a row. They still close the standings with four games lost. They share the position with Al-Khtot Al-Jawiya. Al-Tadamoun will meet at home league's leader Duhok in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Al Kahraba will play against Al Hilla (#9) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Baghdad: Al Shurtah (#5) and AL-Adhamiya (#10). AL-Adhamiya was crushed at home by 16 points 68-84 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Thulfiqar Hammoodi nailed a double-double by scoring 23 points and 18 rebounds for the winning side. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Al Shurtah (3-1) moved-up to third place, which they share with Al-Tadamoun and Al Mina. AL-Adhamiya at the other side keeps the tenth position with four games lost. Al Shurtah's next round opponent will be Zakho (#6) at home. AL-Adhamiya's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Baghdad Al-Khtot Al-Jawiya.

Duhok - Al Hilla 94-90

Undefeated leader Duhok delivered the fifth consecutive victory. This time they beat 8th ranked Al Hilla (1-3) 94-90. Duhok held Al Hilla to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. American guard Chris Johnson (192-91, college: St.Catharine) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 30 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. The former international guard Omar Alazawi (187-88) contributed with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Croatian guard Hrvoje Puljko (193-83) answered with 34 points (!!!) and forward Alla Abed (195-87) added 20 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Al Hilla. Five Duhok and four Al Hilla players scored in double figures. Duhok (5-0) have an impressive series of five victories in a row. Newly promoted Duhok maintains first place with a perfect record of 5 victories in a row. Al Hilla lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the ninth position with three games lost. Duhok will play against Al-Tadamoun (#4) in Najef in the next round. Al Hilla will play at home against Al Kahraba (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Hilla: H.Puljko 34+4reb+3ast, A.Abed 20+7reb, M.Abbas 13+7reb+6ast, M.Hamzah 10+1reb+2ast, S.Khalid 4+7reb, A.Ahmed 4+4reb+1ast
Duhok: C.Johnson 30+18reb+5ast, A.Al-Tameemi 18+3reb+4ast, O.Alazawi 17+5reb+5ast, A.N 14+4reb, R.Haji Alatroshi 11+3reb, A.Hameed 2+2reb+1ast

Al Kahraba - Al-Tadamoun 62-82

Bottom-ranked Al Kahraba (0-4) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 82-62 loss to sixth ranked Al-Tadamoun (3-1) in Baghdad on Thursday evening. They held Al Kahraba to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. Al-Tadamoun forced 19 Al Kahraba turnovers. American forward R.J. McGhee (198, college: Oklahoma City) stepped up and scored 28 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners and guard Abbas Al-Draisawi (188-98) chipped in 28 points and 9 rebounds. Al-Tadamoun's coach used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Ali Saeed responded with 13 points and 9 rebounds and Hussein Al-Hraishawi produced a double-double by scoring 10 points and 12 rebounds. Al-Tadamoun moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Shurtah and Al Mina. Al Kahraba lost their fourth game in a row. They still close the standings with four games lost. They share the position with Al-Khtot Al-Jawiya. Al-Tadamoun will meet at home league's leader Duhok in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Al Kahraba will play against Al Hilla (#9) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Al Kahraba: S.Ali 13+9reb+1ast, A.Baqer 11+1ast, A.Hussein 10+12reb+1ast, J.Hasan 8+10reb+3ast, A.Mostafa 8+8reb+1ast, A.Hussein 4+3reb
Al-Tadamoun: A.Al-Draisawi 28+9reb+2ast, R.McGhee 28+6reb+8ast, A.Mohammed 9+4reb+3ast, A.Hasan 6+14reb, A.Ahmed 5+8reb, A.Hussein 4+1reb+1ast

AL-Adhamiya - Al Shurtah 68-84

Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Baghdad: Al Shurtah (#5) and AL-Adhamiya (#10). AL-Adhamiya was crushed at home by 16 points 68-84 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Al Shurtah held AL-Adhamiya to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. Al Shurtah forced 25 AL-Adhamiya turnovers and outrebounded them 50-28 including a 36-18 advantage in defensive rebounds. International forward Thulfiqar Hammoodi (196-92) nailed a double-double by scoring 23 points and 18 rebounds for the winning side and international forward Hayder Aldiwani (200) accounted for 23 points and 7 rebounds. Hayder Khudhair came up with 24 points and Mohammed Al-Ani added 12 points and 8 rebounds respectively for AL-Adhamiya in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Al Shurtah (3-1) moved-up to third place, which they share with Al-Tadamoun and Al Mina. AL-Adhamiya at the other side keeps the tenth position with four games lost. Al Shurtah's next round opponent will be Zakho (#6) at home. AL-Adhamiya's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Baghdad Al-Khtot Al-Jawiya.
Top scorers:
AL-Adhamiya: K.Hayder 24+2reb+3ast, A.Mohammed 12+8reb+2ast, A.Abulfadhel 10+4reb, A.Layth 7+2reb+3ast, A.Bilal 5+2reb, M.Abdulhay 4+5reb
Al Shurtah: H.Aldiwani 23+7reb, T.Hammoodi 23+18reb+1ast, H.Abdullah 11+4reb+5ast, M.Ismail 6+7reb, A.Al-Nasrawi 6+4reb+3ast, H.Talib 6+4reb

Al Shurtah - Nift Al-Janoub 76-77

Al Shurtah (3-1) recorded its first loss in Baghdad on Tuesday night. Hosts were edged by ninth ranked Nift Al-Janoub (2-2) 77-76. Nift Al-Janoub held Al Shurtah to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. The best player for the winners was international guard Jasim Al-Saeed (192-95) who scored 27 points and 7 rebounds. Abbas Alqarnawi chipped in 18 points. International guard Hassan Abdullah (190-94) produced 27 points and 5 rebounds and international forward Thulfiqar Hammoodi (196-92) added 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for the hosts. Four Al Shurtah players scored in double figures. Nift Al-Janoub moved-up to seventh place. Al Shurtah at the other side dropped to the third position with one game lost. They share it with Al-Tadamoun and Al Mina. Nift Al-Janoub are looking forward to face Ghaz Al-Shamal (#8) in Kirku in the next round. Al Shurtah will play at home against Zakho (#6) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Al Shurtah: H.Abdullah 27+5reb+3ast, A.Al-Nasrawi 15+4reb+2ast, M.Al-Khafaji 13+9reb+1ast, T.Hammoodi 11+7reb+5ast, H.Talib 8+10reb, H.Aldiwani 2+4reb
Nift Al-Janoub: A.Jasim 27+7reb+1ast, A.Abbas 18+3reb+1ast, A.Adil 9+7reb, A.Hamzah 9+3reb+2ast, J.Dickson 7+7reb+5ast, A.Ahmed 3+4reb+9ast



Tags : JASIM AL-SAEED, NIFT AL-JANOUB, IRAQI BASKETBALL