QBL Round 1 (Regular Season): Al Gharafa lose to Qatar Club

The Regular Season in QBL just started. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Al Gharafa in Doha on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Qatar Club 78-60. Qatar Club forced 24 Al Gharafa turnovers. Strangely Al Gharafa outrebounded Qatar Club 43-25 including a 12-1 advantage in offensive rebounds. Americans were the main players on the court. Guard Holland Woods II (184-1999, college: GCU, agency: Octagon Europe) stepped up and scored 34 points (!!!), 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and guard Sindou Diallo (194-2000, college: Montana Tech) chipped in 21 points and 5 steals. At the losing side forward Karim York (206, college: PVAMU) responded with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds. Qatar Club's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Sadd.
Important game to mention about took place in Doha. Al Gharafa saved a 1-point derby victory at home edging Al Shamal 79-78 in the game for the fourth place. American guard Aaron Parks (190-1994, college: CSUN) nailed 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side and Youssef Yagoub accounted for 22 points and 6 rebounds. American center Tyler Harris (208-1993, college: Auburn, agency: AG Sports Solutions) came up with a double-double by scoring 27 points and 11 rebounds for Al Shamal in the defeat. Al Gharafa's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Rayyan.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Arabi and Al Ahli D.. Despite it looked like an easy game for Al Arabi, 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 Al Ahli D. challenged much higher ranked Al Arabi giving them a very tough game, but finally losing it by five points 88-83. Kenny Brown fired 31 points and 8 assists for the winners. Johnathan Hudson produced 18 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists for lost side. Al Arabi will meet at home Al Wakrah in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Al Ahli D.'s supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Shamal.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 1: Al Khor lost to Al Shamal on the opponent's court 67-82. Al Rayyan outscored Al Khor in a home game 76-57. Al Sadd lost to Al Arabi on the road 56-72. Qatar Club defeated Al Ahli D. on its own court 80-67.



Al Shamal - Al Khor 82-67

Al Shamal used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Al Khor 82-67 on Saturday night. American center Tyler Harris (208-1993, college: Auburn, agency: AG Sports Solutions) fired 33 points (!!!) and 7 rebounds for the winners. His fellow American import guard Dexter Williams (193, college: UMW) chipped in 17 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals. Harris is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Finnish power forward Mubashar Ali (213, college: FMU) produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 14 rebounds and American point guard Antonio Williams (183-1997, college: Kent St., agency: Players Group) added 14 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Shamal's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Doha Al Ahli D..
Top scorers:
Al Shamal: T.Harris 33+7reb+2ast, D.Williams 17+9reb+9ast, M.Talla 12+1reb+1ast, M.Hasan-Mohamed 10+8reb+2ast, S.Osayande 8+5reb, E.Saeed 2+8reb+1ast
Al Khor: M.Ali 18+14reb+2ast, A.Williams 14+7reb+7ast, J.Gillens-Butler 12+2reb+1ast, O.Salem 10+8reb, N.Waleed 9+2reb+1ast, K.Mohamed 4+5reb

Qatar Club - Al Gharafa 78-60

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Al Gharafa in Doha on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Qatar Club 78-60. Qatar Club forced 24 Al Gharafa turnovers. Strangely Al Gharafa outrebounded Qatar Club 43-25 including a 12-1 advantage in offensive rebounds. Americans were the main players on the court. Guard Holland Woods II (184-1999, college: GCU, agency: Octagon Europe) stepped up and scored 34 points (!!!), 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and guard Sindou Diallo (194-2000, college: Montana Tech) chipped in 21 points and 5 steals. At the losing side forward Karim York (206, college: PVAMU) responded with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds and guard Aaron Parks (190-1994, college: CSUN) scored 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Qatar Club's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Sadd.
Top scorers:
Qatar Club: H.Woods II 34+5reb+4ast, S.Diallo 21+3reb+2ast, A.Ndoye 10+8reb+4ast, A.Abdalla Ali 6+1reb+2ast, A.Diop 4+8reb, D.Janjic 3
Al Gharafa: K.York 24+13reb+1ast, N.Muslic 12+9reb+3ast, A.Parks 12+9reb+6ast, Y.Yagoub 6+1reb+1ast, I.Marlen 4, M.Yousuf Mohmmed 2+10reb+2ast

Al Ahli D. - Al Arabi 83-88

Another exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Arabi and Al Ahli D.. Despite it looked like an easy game for Al Arabi, 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 Al Ahli D. challenged much higher ranked Al Arabi giving them a very tough game, but finally losing it by five points 88-83. Strangely Al Ahli D. outrebounded Al Arabi 41-24 including a 19-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. American guard Kenny Brown (188-1991, college: Ferris St., agency: SLN) fired 31 points and 8 assists for the winners. South Sudanese-Australian center Deng Acuoth (208-1996) chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). American point guard Johnathan Hudson (180-1987, college: Texas A&M) produced 18 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists and international forward Mohammed Abbasher (198-2004) added 18 points and 8 rebounds respectively for lost side. Five Al Ahli D. players scored in double figures. Al Arabi will meet at home Al Wakrah in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Al Ahli D.'s supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Shamal.
Top scorers:
Al Arabi: K.Brown 31+1reb+8ast, A.Khaled 15+2reb+1ast, A.Deng 13+9reb, M.Hussein 9+6reb, K.Abdi 9+1reb+3ast, A.Omar 7+1reb
Al Ahli D.: J.Hudson 18+7reb+9ast, A.Mohammed 18+8reb+3ast, S.Toutziarakis 18+9reb+1ast, N.Mohamed 15+9reb, N.Seydou 11+6reb+2ast, A.Sultan 3

Al Gharafa - Al Shamal 79-78

Important game to mention about took place in Doha. Al Gharafa saved a 1-point derby victory at home edging Al Shamal 79-78 in the game for the fourth place. Al Gharafa outrebounded Al Shamal 49-32 including 18 on the offensive glass. American guard Aaron Parks (190-1994, college: CSUN) nailed 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side and Egyptian point guard Youssef Yagoub (173, college: St.Vincent) accounted for 22 points and 6 rebounds. American center Tyler Harris (208-1993, college: Auburn, agency: AG Sports Solutions) came up with a double-double by scoring 27 points and 11 rebounds and the other American import guard Dexter Williams (193, college: UMW) added 15 points and 5 assists respectively for Al Shamal in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Gharafa's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Rayyan.
Top scorers:
Al Gharafa: A.Parks 24+7reb+5ast, Y.Yagoub 22+6reb+3ast, K.York 14+5reb+1ast, N.Muslic 10+12reb+2ast, M.Yousuf Mohmmed 7+18reb+3ast, E.Ziyad 2+1reb
Al Shamal: T.Harris 27+11reb+3ast, M.Talla 18+3reb+2ast, D.Williams 15+4reb+5ast, S.Osayande 10+5reb+3ast, M.Hasan-Mohamed 5+1reb, M.Fakhirah 3+1reb+1ast

Al Rayyan - Al Khor 76-57

Very predictable result in Doha where Al Rayyan smashed Al Khor 76-57 on Tuesday. Senegalese power forward Mouhammad Faye (207-1985, college: SMU) fired a double-double by scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. The former international Aladji Bobo Magassa (198-2000) chipped in 9 points and 13 rebounds. Four Al Rayyan players scored in double figures. Egyptian center Omar Salem (205-1983) produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 12 rebounds and Finnish power forward Mubashar Ali (213, college: FMU) added 11 points and 15 rebounds respectively for lost side. Al Rayyan's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Doha Al Gharafa.
Top scorers:
Al Rayyan: M.Abdelkawy 17+2reb+4ast, M.Heron 13+3reb+3ast, M.Haracic 12+7reb+2ast, M.Faye 12+10reb+2ast, A.Bobo Magassa 9+13reb+2ast, M.Salem 7+4reb+3ast
Al Khor: O.Salem 19+12reb+1ast, J.Gillens-Butler 13+5reb, M.Ali 11+15reb+1ast, A.Williams 8+3reb+1ast, N.Waleed 6+2reb+1ast, E.Abdelrahman 0+1reb

Al Arabi - Al Sadd 72-56

Not a big story in a game in Doha where Al Sadd was defeated by Al Arabi 72-56 on Wednesday. Al Arabi outrebounded Al Sadd 50-30 including a 15-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. South Sudanese-Australian center Deng Acuoth (208-1996) fired a double-double by scoring 13 points and 14 rebounds for the winners. International guard Khaled Abdelbaset (191-1997) chipped in 18 points and 9 rebounds. International forward Babacar Dieng (196-1997) produced 13 points and 9 rebounds and international Faisal Abuissa (188-1999) added 13 points and 4 assists respectively for lost side. Four Al Sadd players scored in double figures. Al Arabi will meet at home Al Wakrah in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Al Sadd's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Doha Qatar Club.
Top scorers:
Al Arabi: A.Khaled 18+9reb+1ast, K.Brown 15+3reb+3ast, A.Deng 13+14reb+1ast, A.Omar 7+4reb, M.Lashin 6+2reb+2ast, K.Abdi 6+8reb+6ast
Al Sadd: B.Dieng 13+9reb+2ast, A.Faisal 13+3reb+4ast, O.Saad 12+3reb+3ast, Y.Badr 12+3reb+3ast, M.Ahmad 3, M.Majak 3+12reb+1ast

Qatar Club - Al Ahli D. 80-67

Everything went according to plan in Doha where Qatar Club beat Al Ahli D. 80-67 on Wednesday. American guard Holland Woods II (184-1999, college: GCU, agency: Octagon Europe) fired 26 points, 7 assists and 7 steals for the winners. His fellow American import guard Sindou Diallo (194-2000, college: Montana Tech) chipped in 16 points. The former international guard Mohamed Ndao (193-2007) produced a double-double by scoring 17 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists and international forward Mohammed Abbasher (198-2004) added 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Qatar Club's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Sadd.
Top scorers:
Qatar Club: H.Woods II 26+2reb+7ast, S.Diallo 16+4reb+3ast, D.Janjic 15+6reb+1ast, A.Abdalla Ali 15+3reb+1ast, A.Ndoye 8+4reb+3ast, A.Adam 0
Al Ahli D.: A.Mohammed 18+8reb+5ast, N.Mohamed 17+12reb+6ast, N.Seydou 16+4reb+2ast, S.Toutziarakis 12+8reb+2ast, A.Sultan 2+1reb+1ast, D.Mohmoud 2+2reb+3ast