Superleague Round 34: Al Naft beat Al-Khtot in a derby game

Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Baghdad: Al Naft (#1) and Al-Khtot (#8). Al-Khtot was defeated at home 71-83 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. Al Naft held Al-Khtot to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. They outrebounded Al-Khtot 46-31 including a 19-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. The former international point guard Kevin Galloway (200-88, college: Texas Southern) fired a double-double by scoring 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. The former international center Ihab Al-Zuhairi (209-98) chipped in 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Guard Safaa Al-Saedi (171-94) produced 20 points and 6 rebounds for lost side. Al Naft (20-1) have an impressive six-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position. Al-Khtot at the other side keeps the eighth place with 13 games lost. They share the position with Nift Al-Shamal.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Al-Hashd (16-4) against fifth ranked Nift Al-Basra (13-5) on Thursday night. Visiting Al-Hashd was defeated by Nift Al-Basra in a tough game in Basra 73-77. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Al-Hashd. Worth to mention a great performance of international center Ali Hameed (208-84) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 24 points and 15 rebounds. Demarius Bolds contributed with 29 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Lebanese power forward Mohamad Haidar (203-90, college: Michigan Tech, agency: BIG) replied with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists for Al-Hashd. Nift Al-Basra have an impressive nine-game winning streak. They moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Al Kahraba. Newly promoted Al-Hashd keeps the third position with four games lost.
The game with biggest result difference took place in Kirku. Local Ghaz Al-Shamal (4-15) was outscored by second ranked Al Shorta (17-3) 97-68 on Tuesday night. Hayder Aldiwani had a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners. Al Shorta's coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the losing side Khalid Sultan responded with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Al Shorta maintains second position with 17-3 record having four points less than leader Al Naft. Ghaz Al-Shamal lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 15 games lost.

Ghaz Al-Shamal - Al Shorta 68-97

The game with biggest result difference took place in Kirku. Local Ghaz Al-Shamal (4-15) was outscored by second ranked Al Shorta (17-3) 97-68 on Tuesday night. Al Shorta held Ghaz Al-Shamal to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. Al Shorta forced 22 Ghaz Al-Shamal turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists comparing to just 6 passes made by Ghaz Al-Shamal's players. The former international forward Hayder Aldiwani (200) had a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and Ali Saeed chipped in 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists during the contest. Four Al Shorta players scored in double figures. Al Shorta's coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the losing side Khalid Sultan responded with 13 points and 9 rebounds and Rekan Abdulla scored 18 points. Al Shorta maintains second position with 17-3 record having four points less than leader Al Naft. Ghaz Al-Shamal lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 15 games lost.
Top scorers:
Ghaz Al-Shamal: A.Rekan 18+3reb+1ast, S.Khalid 13+9reb, S.Kayhan 12+1reb+5ast, A.Fadhil 9+8reb, A.Mustafa 9+4reb, A.Mohammed 3+2reb
Al Shorta: H.Aldiwani 13+10reb+2ast, S.Hasan 12+1reb+2ast, M.Abdulqader 11+1reb+1ast, S.Ali 11+7reb+5ast, A.Muntadher 10+3reb+2ast, H.Talib 10+1reb+1ast

Nift Al-Basra - Al-Hashd 77-73

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Al-Hashd (16-4) against fifth ranked Nift Al-Basra (13-5) on Thursday night. Visiting Al-Hashd was defeated by Nift Al-Basra in a tough game in Basra 73-77. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Al-Hashd. Nift Al-Basra held Al-Hashd 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 international center Ali Hameed (208-84) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 24 points and 15 rebounds. American guard Demarius Bolds (193-84, college: MWSU) contributed with 29 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Bolds is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Lebanese power forward Mohamad Haidar (203-90, college: Michigan Tech, agency: BIG) replied with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists and guard Abbas Al-Draisawi (188-98) added 16 points in the effort for Al-Hashd. Nift Al-Basra have an impressive nine-game winning streak. They moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Al Kahraba. Newly promoted Al-Hashd keeps the third position with four games lost.
Top scorers:
Al-Hashd: M.Haidar 22+13reb+4ast, T.Hammoodi 17+3reb, A.Al-Draisawi 16+4reb+3ast, A.Al-Nasrawi 6+3reb+2ast, A.Maytham 4+2reb+1ast, I.Al-Zubaidi 3+2reb
Nift Al-Basra: D.Bolds 29+7reb, A.Hameed 24+15reb, A.Jasim 9+5reb+1ast, A.Aljuboori 6+5reb+5ast, D.Al-Hchaimi 6+4reb, A.Adil 3+4reb

Al-Khtot - Al Naft 71-83

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Baghdad: Al Naft (#1) and Al-Khtot (#8). Al-Khtot was defeated at home 71-83 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. Al Naft held Al-Khtot to an opponent 0.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 0.0 percent accuracy of the winners. They outrebounded Al-Khtot 46-31 including a 19-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. The former international point guard Kevin Galloway (200-88, college: Texas Southern) fired a double-double by scoring 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. The former international center Ihab Al-Zuhairi (209-98) chipped in a double-double by scoring 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Al Naft players scored in double figures. Guard Safaa Al-Saedi (171-94) produced 20 points and 6 rebounds and Hamzah Abs added 11 points and 6 assists respectively for lost side. Al Naft (20-1) have an impressive six-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position. Al-Khtot at the other side keeps the eighth place with 13 games lost. They share the position with Nift Al-Shamal.
Top scorers:
Al-Khtot: S.Al-Saedi 20+6reb+1ast, A.Hamzah 11+4reb+6ast, A.Zuhair 10+1reb, A.Nawras 10+9reb+1ast, A.Layth 9+5ast, I.Ahmed 8+3reb+2ast
Al Naft: K.Galloway 25+11reb+5ast, A.Ismael 11+8reb+1ast, I.Al-Zuhairi 11+13reb+4ast, A.Hamad 10+3reb+2ast, I.Ismail 8+4reb+2ast, K.Hamzah 8+5reb+4ast



Tags : KEVIN GALLOWAY, AL NAFT BAGHDAD, IRAQI BASKETBALL