Abdulrahman Saad
Al Shamal's Georgian star of Mikheil Berishvili's match-high 27 points went in vain as Al Gharafa defeated Al Shamal for the second time in a week to win their fifth Qatar Cup on Wednesday .
At the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall, the newly-crowned Qatar Men's League champions Al Gharafa were bolstered by a combined effort from Qatar international Abdulrahman Saad (23 points) and Muslic Nedim (16 points) in their team's 88-77 win in the final. Americans Franklin Session (15 points) and Tyler Harris (11 points) too chipped in handsomely in the victory.
'It is an amazing win. Hats off to Shamal as they played very well today. They had us on the ropes for a while, but we stayed together as a team and won the title,' Session said after the win.
Gharafa, who had won the Qatar Cup in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016, had defeated Shamal on January 24 to win their second Qatar League title.
'It was a tiring game. We have played three games in five days. Contrary to the league final, this time, Shamal had their full team, but I think we played better basketball today and are the deserving winners,' Saad said.
Gharafa coach Kosay Hatem said, 'It is a big win for us. Now we have won two trophies this season. The credit goes to the players as they played like a unit throughout the season.'
For Al Shamal, their Lebanese player Wael Arkaji, who was the architect of their semi-final win over Al Sadd, also chipped in with 23 points. Al Gharafa defeated Qatar SC 83-72 in their semi-final, while Al Shamal had to dig very deep to beat Al Sadd 74-73 in a nail-biting, buzzer-beating finish
Source AFP
Tags : ABDULRAHMAN SAAD, AL GHARAFA DOHA, QATARI BASKETBALL
