D1 Round 15: Al Gharafa beat Al Ahli in a derby game

Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Gharafa (#4) and Al Ahli (#6). Al Gharafa (9-4) crushed visiting Al Ahli (6-7) by 17 points 89-72. Al Gharafa forced 22 Al Ahli turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. The best player for the winners was American forward Aaron Nelson (205-91, college: S.Indiana) who had a double-double by scoring 28 points and 13 rebounds. The former international swingman Abdulrahman Saad (185-96) chipped in 27 points and 4 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was American guard Jeff Newberry (188-92, college: Oklahoma St.) who recorded a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 assists. Al Gharafa maintains fourth place with 9-4 record. Al Ahli at the other side keeps the sixth position with seven games lost.
Another exciting game was again a derby between two teams from Doha: Al Shamal (#1) and Qatar Sports Club (#7). Despite it looked like an easy game for Al Shamal, those rules do not exist in derby games. It's more the case of honor for local supporters and such games have that special and unique approach you cannot find in other games. Host Qatar Sports Club challenged much higher ranked Al Shamal giving them a very tough game, but finally losing it by six points 88-82. It was a good game for Georgian point guard George Tsintsadze (192-86) who led his team to a victory with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Aaron Mitchell contributed with 25 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. American point guard Jonathan Lee (188-90, college: Northeastern) answered with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!) for Qatar Sports Club. Al Shamal (12-3) have an impressive series of six victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place. Qatar Sports Club lost ninth consecutive game. They keep the seventh position with ten games lost.
Another exciting game was again a derby match of two local teams from Doha: Al Arabi (#2) and Al Rayyan (#5). Al Arabi (11-2) won against visiting Al Rayyan (8-6) 81-72. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Al Rayyan. It was a great evening for Miroslav Todic who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds. The best for the losing side was Eric Lockett with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds. The victory was the seventh consecutive win for Al Arabi. They maintain second place with 11-2 record behind leader Al Shamal. Loser Al Rayyan keeps the fifth position with six games lost.

In the last game of round 15 Al Khor was defeated by Al Wakrah in a road game 74-68.

Al Gharafa - Al Ahli 89-72

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Gharafa (#4) and Al Ahli (#6). Al Gharafa (9-4) crushed visiting Al Ahli (6-7) by 17 points 89-72. Al Gharafa forced 22 Al Ahli turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. The best player for the winners was American forward Aaron Nelson (205-91, college: S.Indiana) who had a double-double by scoring 28 points and 13 rebounds. The former international swingman Abdulrahman Saad (185-96) chipped in 27 points and 4 assists. Four Al Gharafa players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was American guard Jeff Newberry (188-92, college: Oklahoma St.) who recorded a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 assists and Mohammed Ouiri added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists respectively. Al Gharafa maintains fourth place with 9-4 record. Al Ahli at the other side keeps the sixth position with seven games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Gharafa: A.Nelson 28+13reb+3ast, A.Saad 27+4reb+4ast, T.Bussey 15+7reb+5ast, S.Monroe 13+8reb+8ast, M.Yousuf Mohmmed 6+6reb+3ast, M.K 0
Al Ahli: J.Newberry 24+4reb+10ast, M.Ouiri 16+7reb+5ast, A.Hamza 8, A.Rountree III 8+11reb+3ast, L.Munks 7+7reb+4ast, A.Tawfiq 5+3reb

Al Wakrah - Al Khor 74-68

There was no surprise when 8th ranked Al Khor (1-13) was defeated on the road by third ranked Al Wakrah (10-4) 74-68 on Wednesday. However just six-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. It was a great evening for Senegalese center Oumar Seck (208-88) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists. American Julius Coles (193-89, college: Canisius) helped adding 18 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Four Al Wakrah players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was American center Khobi Williamson (201-92, college: Hampden-Sydney) with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists and the other American import guard Madarious Gibbs (185-93, college: Texas Southern) scored 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Al Wakrah maintains third place with 10-4 record having just three points less than leader Al Shamal. Al Khor lost their fifth game in a row. They keep the eighth position with 13 games lost. They share it with Al Sadd.
Top scorers:
Al Wakrah: M.Abdul-Aleem 24+6reb, O.Seck 18+15reb+5ast, J.Coles 18+11reb+6ast, E.Saeed 11+4reb, I.Mohammed 3+1reb+1ast, A.Matalkeh 0
Al Khor: M.Gibbs 25+5reb+7ast, K.Williamson 18+16reb+5ast, M.Bernard 15+7reb+4ast, A.Bobo Magassa 4+5reb+1ast, M.Lashin 3+1ast, A.Al-Yousif 3+1ast

Qatar Club - Al Shamal 82-88

Another exciting game was again a derby between two teams from Doha: Al Shamal (#1) and Qatar Sports Club (#7). Despite it looked like an easy game for Al Shamal, those rules do not exist in derby games. It's more the case of honor for local supporters and such games have that special and unique approach you cannot find in other games. Host Qatar Sports Club challenged much higher ranked Al Shamal giving them a very tough game, but finally losing it by six points 88-82. It was a good game for Georgian point guard George Tsintsadze (192-86) who led his team to a victory with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. American guard Aaron Mitchell (188-89, college: Longwood) contributed with 25 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. American point guard Jonathan Lee (188-90, college: Northeastern) answered with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!) and Canadian power forward Keanau Post (210-92, college: Missouri) added 10 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists in the effort for Qatar Sports Club. Four Al Shamal and five Qatar Sports Club players scored in double figures. Al Shamal (12-3) have an impressive series of six victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place. Qatar Sports Club lost ninth consecutive game. They keep the seventh position with ten games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Shamal: A.Mitchell 25+7reb+2ast, G.Tsintsadze 21+6reb+8ast, O.Salem 17+3reb, M.Berishvili 15+7reb+4ast, A.Kosar 8+5reb, F.Avdic 2+7reb+1ast
Qatar Club: J.Lee 22+9reb+4ast, A.Mahmoud 17+3reb, K.Bracy-Davis 16+5reb+4ast, F.Mohamad 14+1reb+1ast, K.Post 10+16reb+5ast, B.Ba-Sulaiman 3+3reb+1ast

Al Arabi - Al Rayyan 81-72

Another exciting game was again a derby match of two local teams from Doha: Al Arabi (#2) and Al Rayyan (#5). Al Arabi (11-2) won against visiting Al Rayyan (8-6) 81-72. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Al Rayyan. Al Arabi made 21-of-25 free shots (84.0 percent) during the game. It was a great evening for Bosnian-Serbian power forward Miroslav Todic (205-85) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds. Algerian forward Mohamed Harath (198-90) helped adding 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Five Al Arabi players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was American guard Eric Lockett (196, college: NC State) with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds and the former international forward Tanguy Ngombo (197-84) produced a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds. The victory was the seventh consecutive win for Al Arabi. They maintain second place with 11-2 record behind leader Al Shamal. Loser Al Rayyan keeps the fifth position with six games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Arabi: M.Todic 28+10reb+2ast, M.Harath 15+10reb+4ast, K.Suliman 12+6reb+2ast, K.Galloway 12+8reb+5ast, A.Khaled 10+5reb+2ast, M.Gueye 2+2ast
Al Rayyan: E.Lockett 24+12reb+2ast, T.Ngombo 21+10reb, M.Hasan-Mohamed 10+4reb, T.Farmer 8+5reb+3ast, A.Abdelhaleem 4+3reb, M.Abdelaziz ElSayed 3+3reb+1ast



Tags : AARON NELSON, AL GHARAFA DOHA, QATARI BASKETBALL