Superleague Round 8: Duhok lose to Kahraba

Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

There was a change at the Superleague leadership position after last games. Round 8 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Duhok (6-2). They were defeated by eleventh ranked Al Kahraba (1-6) 67-59 on Saturday night. Al Kahraba held Duhok to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. Worth to mention a great performance of Ali Saeed who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 11 points and 14 rebounds and Ahmed Kareem who added 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. The former international guard Omar Alazawi (187-88) responded with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Al Kahraba maintains eleventh position with 1-6 record. Newly promoted Duhok dropped to the second place with two games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Al Naft. Duhok will play next round against league's leader Al Naft trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Al Kahraba will try to continue on its current victory against seventh ranked Zakho on the road.
The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Al Naft as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Al Naft edged 3rd ranked Al Shurtah in Baghdad 86-84. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Al Shurtah. The winners were led by the former international center Ihab Al-Zuhairi (209-98) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 16 points and 14 rebounds and Ali Ismael supported him with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Even 31 points and 4 assists by the former international guard Hassan Abdullah (190-94) did not help to save the game for Al Shurtah. Undefeated Al Naft (6-0) have an impressive six-game winning streak. As mentioned above they took over a top position. Al Shurtah at the other side keeps the third place with two games lost. They share the position with Al Mina. Al Shurtah will play next round against Al-Tadamoun trying to get back on the winning streak. Al Naft will try to continue on its current victory against second ranked Duhok at home.
A very close game took place in Najef (derby !!!) between Al Mina and Al-Tadamoun. Fourth ranked Al Mina (5-2) got a very close victory on the road over 6th ranked Al-Tadamoun (3-4). Al Mina managed to escape with a 2-point win 63-61 on Saturday evening. The best player for the winners was Saffa Al-Saedi who scored 17 points. Ahmed Al-Abd produced a double-double by scoring 10 points and 14 rebounds for the hosts. Al Mina moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Shurtah. Al-Tadamoun lost third consecutive game. They keep the sixth position with four games lost. Al Mina's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Basra Nift Al-Janoub.

Al Naft - Al Shurtah 86-84

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Al Naft as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Al Naft edged 3rd ranked Al Shurtah in Baghdad 86-84. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Al Shurtah. Al Naft held Al Shurtah to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. Al Naft forced 19 Al Shurtah turnovers. The winners were led by the former international center Ihab Al-Zuhairi (209-98) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 16 points and 14 rebounds and the former international forward Ali Ismael (199-94) supported him with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Five Al Naft players scored in double figures. Even 31 points and 4 assists by the former international guard Hassan Abdullah (190-94) did not help to save the game for Al Shurtah. American swingman Rashad Woods (197-86, college: Kent St.) added 20 points and 6 rebounds for the guests. Al Naft (6-0) have an impressive six-game winning streak. As mentioned above they took over a top position. Al Shurtah at the other side keeps the third place with two games lost. They share the position with Al Mina. Al Shurtah will play next round against Al-Tadamoun trying to get back on the winning streak. Al Naft will try to continue on its current victory against second ranked Duhok at home.
Top scorers:
Al Shurtah: H.Abdullah 31+1reb+4ast, R.Woods 20+6reb+2ast, A.Al-Nasrawi 11+4reb+5ast, M.Al-Khafaji 9+5reb, M.Ismail 8+7reb+5ast, T.Hammoodi 3+3reb+1ast
Al Naft: A.Ismael 17+5reb+3ast, I.Al-Zuhairi 16+14reb+1ast, K.Hamzah 14+2reb+3ast, A.Hamad 14+5reb+1ast, R.Fareed 13+3reb, D.Mayfield 12+6reb+7ast

Al Kahraba - Duhok 67-59

There was a change at the Superleague leadership position after last games. Round 8 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Duhok (6-2). They were defeated by eleventh ranked Al Kahraba (1-6) 67-59 on Saturday night. Al Kahraba held Duhok to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. Worth to mention a great performance of Ali Saeed who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 11 points and 14 rebounds and Ahmed Kareem who added 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Five Al Kahraba players scored in double figures. The former international guard Omar Alazawi (187-88) responded with 17 points and 9 rebounds and N Altaleb produced a double-double by scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds. Al Kahraba maintains eleventh position with 1-6 record. Newly promoted Duhok dropped to the second place with two games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Al Naft. Duhok will play next round against league's leader Al Naft trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Al Kahraba will try to continue on its current victory against seventh ranked Zakho on the road.
Top scorers:
Duhok: O.Alazawi 17+9reb+3ast, A.N 12+10reb, R.Haji Alatroshi 9+3reb, M.Abdulqader 8+6reb+5ast, C.Johnson 7+9reb+2ast, A.Hameed 4+5reb+1ast
Al Kahraba: A.Mostafa 15+6reb+1ast, M.Nahi 13+10reb, S.Hasan 12+1reb+1ast, K.Ahmed 12+9reb+4ast, S.Ali 11+14reb+2ast, A.Hussein 4+1reb

Al-Tadamoun - Al Mina 61-63

A very close game took place in Najef (derby !!!) between Al Mina and Al-Tadamoun. Fourth ranked Al Mina (5-2) got a very close victory on the road over 6th ranked Al-Tadamoun (3-4). Al Mina managed to escape with a 2-point win 63-61 on Saturday evening. Al Mina held Al-Tadamoun 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 guard Saffa Al-Saedi (183-89) who scored 17 points. Imad Al-Zubaidi chipped in 15 points and 8 rebounds. Ahmed Al-Abd produced a double-double by scoring 10 points and 14 rebounds and guard Abbas Al-Draisawi (188-98) added 18 points and 5 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Al Mina moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Shurtah. Al-Tadamoun lost third consecutive game. They keep the sixth position with four games lost. Al Mina's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Basra Nift Al-Janoub.
Top scorers:
Al-Tadamoun: A.Al-Draisawi 18+5reb, A.Mohammed 16+4reb+2ast, A.Ahmed 10+14reb+3ast, K.Rashwan 7+7reb+2ast, A.Hasan 7+11reb+1ast, A.Sadeq 3+2reb+1ast
Al Mina: S.Al-Saedi 17+4reb+3ast, I.Al-Zubaidi 15+8reb+1ast, M.Mahdi 10+7reb+1ast, J.Stubbs 7+2reb+1ast, A.Aljuboori 6+8reb+8ast, K.Al-Elayawi 6+3reb



Tags : OMAR ALAZAWI, DUHOK, IRAQI BASKETBALL