QBL Round 15 (Regular Season): Qatar Club beat Al Shamal by one after a very close game

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 15 in the QBL took place in Doha. This derby game ended with only one-point home defeat of 8th ranked Al Shamal (5-11) to sixth ranked Qatar Club (7-9) 75-74 on Wednesday evening. It was a good game for American guard Sindou Diallo (194-2000, college: Montana Tech) who saved his team from a defeat with 27 points and 5 rebounds. His fellow American import guard Holland Woods II (184-1999, college: GCU, agency: Octagon Europe) contributed with 22 points and 7 assists for the winners. Nigerian point guard Uchenna Iroegbu (183-1996, college: Stony Brook) answered with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals for Al Shamal. Qatar Club moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Al Wakrah. Al Shamal at the other side keeps the eighth position with 11 games lost.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Doha: Al Sadd (#7) and Al Rayyan (#4). Al Rayyan was defeated at home 74-88 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It was a great evening for international forward Babacar Dieng (196-1997) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 31 points and 15 rebounds. Kelechi Ajukwa helped adding 30 points and 14 rebounds (went 11 for 11 at the free throw line !!!). The best for the losing side was American guard Nick Griffin (188-1995, college: St.Peter's) with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 11 rebounds. Al Sadd maintains seventh place with 6-10 record. Al Rayyan lost third consecutive game. Defending champion dropped to the third position with seven games lost. They share it with Al Gharafa.
Another exciting game was again a derby between two local teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#4) and Al Shamal (#8). Al Rayyan (9-7) crushed visiting Al Shamal (5-11) by 20 points 99-79. It was an exceptional evening for Andrew White III who led the winners and scored 29 points and 5 rebounds. Uchenna Iroegbu came up with 35 points (!!!) for Al Shamal in the defeat. Defending champion moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Gharafa. Loser Al Shamal keeps the eighth position with 11 games lost.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 15: bottom-ranked Al Khor beat Qatar Club on the road 81-72. Al Gharafa was destroyed by Al Arabi on its own court 62-83. Al Ahli outscored Al Wakrah in Doha 81-54. Al Wakrah recorded a loss to Al Shamal at home 84-89.
The most impressive performance of 15th round was 26 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists by Ken Brown of Al Wakrah.



Al Shamal - Qatar Club 74-75

The most exciting game of round 15 in the QBL took place in Doha. This derby game ended with only one-point home defeat of 8th ranked Al Shamal (5-11) to sixth ranked Qatar Club (7-9) 75-74 on Wednesday evening. It was a good game for American guard Sindou Diallo (194-2000, college: Montana Tech) who saved his team from a defeat with 27 points and 5 rebounds. His fellow American import guard Holland Woods II (184-1999, college: GCU, agency: Octagon Europe) contributed with 22 points and 7 assists for the winners. Nigerian point guard Uchenna Iroegbu (183-1996, college: Stony Brook) answered with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals and Palestinian-Canadian forward Shane Osayande (200-1993, college: Saskatchewan) added 18 points and 16 rebounds in the effort for Al Shamal. Qatar Club moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Al Wakrah. Al Shamal at the other side keeps the eighth position with 11 games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Shamal: U.Iroegbu 27+5reb+5ast, S.Osayande 18+16reb+3ast, A.Fadi 10+10reb+3ast, M.Fakhirah 9+3reb+2ast, M.Talla 5+5reb+1ast, H.Rabi 3
Qatar Club: S.Diallo 27+5reb+2ast, H.Woods II 22+7ast, A.Ndoye 7+12reb+3ast, F.Avdic 7+11reb+1ast, D.Janjic 6+3reb, A.Abdalla Ali 6+2reb+1ast

Al Rayyan - Al Sadd 74-88

Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Doha: Al Sadd (#7) and Al Rayyan (#4). Al Rayyan was defeated at home 74-88 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Al Sadd made 18-of-21 charity shots (85.7 percent) during the game. Al Sadd outrebounded Al Rayyan 46-35 including 17 on the offensive glass. It was a great evening for international forward Babacar Dieng (196-1997) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 31 points and 15 rebounds. Nigerian-American guard Kelechi Ajukwa (201-1995, college: Charlotte) helped adding 30 points and 14 rebounds (went 11 for 11 at the free throw line !!!). The best for the losing side was American guard Nick Griffin (188-1995, college: St.Peter's) with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 11 rebounds and the other American import swingman Andrew White III (200-1993, college: Syracuse) scored 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Al Sadd maintains seventh place with 6-10 record. Al Rayyan lost third consecutive game. Defending champion dropped to the third position with seven games lost. They share it with Al Gharafa.
Top scorers:
Al Rayyan: N.Griffin 23+11reb+2ast, A.White III 17+6reb+4ast, M.Hamad 12+7reb+1ast, M.Abdelkawy 8+3reb+3ast, M.Abdulla 5+3reb+1ast, A.Bobo Magassa 4+3reb
Al Sadd: B.Dieng 31+15reb+2ast, K.Ajukwa 30+14reb+2ast, R.Owens 12+9reb+7ast, O.Saad 6+5reb+2ast, N.Babcar 4, Y.Badr 3+1ast

Qatar Club - Al Khor 72-81

There was a small surprise when ninth ranked Al Khor (3-13) beat 6th ranked Qatar Club (7-9) in Doha 81-72 on Saturday. Al Khor outrebounded Qatar Club 47-35 including a 34-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. It was an exceptional evening for Finnish power forward Mubashar Ali (213, college: FMU) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 26 points, 24 rebounds and 4 assists. American guard Tyree Crump (185-1997, college: Georgia, agency: BIG) accounted for 27 points and 8 rebounds (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line) for the winning side. American guard Holland Woods II (184-1999, college: GCU, agency: Octagon Europe) came up with 32 points and 4 assists and Serbian Dejan Janjic (198-1995) added 12 points and 6 rebounds respectively for Qatar Club in the defeat. Four Qatar Club players scored in double figures. Al Khor maintains ninth place with 3-13 record. Loser Qatar Club dropped to the fifth position with nine games lost. They share it with Al Wakrah.
Top scorers:
Qatar Club: H.Woods II 32+2reb+4ast, D.Janjic 12+6reb+2ast, S.Diallo 11+4reb+2ast, A.Abdalla Ali 10+4reb, A.Ndoye 5+11reb+3ast, H.Mohammed 2
Al Khor: T.Crump 27+8reb+2ast, M.Ali 26+24reb+4ast, C.Jacey 10+2reb+3ast, K.Mohamed 9+3reb+1ast, A.Kosar 4+4reb+2ast, O.Salem 4+5reb

Al Rayyan - Al Shamal 99-79

Another exciting game was again a derby between two local teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#4) and Al Shamal (#8). Al Rayyan (9-7) crushed visiting Al Shamal (5-11) by 20 points 99-79. Al Rayyan forced 19 Al Shamal turnovers. Strangely Al Shamal outrebounded Al Rayyan 36-24 including 25 on the defensive glass. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. It was an exceptional evening for American swingman Andrew White III (200-1993, college: Syracuse) who led the winners and scored 29 points and 5 rebounds. The former international point guard Mohamed Abdelkawy (179-1995) accounted for 23 points and 6 assists for the winning side. Four Al Rayyan players scored in double figures. Nigerian point guard Uchenna Iroegbu (183-1996, college: Stony Brook) came up with 35 points (!!!) and Palestinian-Canadian forward Shane Osayande (200-1993, college: Saskatchewan) added 21 points and 16 rebounds respectively for Al Shamal in the defeat. Defending champion moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Gharafa. Loser Al Shamal keeps the eighth position with 11 games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Shamal: U.Iroegbu 35+4reb+3ast, S.Osayande 21+16reb+2ast, A.Fadi 13+7reb+6ast, M.Fakhirah 6+3reb+1ast, M.Talla 4+3reb+2ast, H.Rabi 0
Al Rayyan: A.White III 29+5reb+1ast, M.Abdelkawy 23+1reb+6ast, N.Griffin 22+2reb+4ast, M.Hamad 19+7reb+1ast, M.Haracic 4+3ast, M.Salem 1+2reb+4ast

Al Gharafa - Al Arabi 62-83

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 3rd placed Al Gharafa's (9-7) home loss to second ranked Al Arabi (13-3) in Doha 62-83 on Saturday. It was an exceptional evening for Bahrain point guard Mustafa Ali (177-2002) who led the winners and scored 35 points (!!!) (went 13 for 13 at the free throw line !!!). The former international swingman Khalid Abdi (199-1987) accounted for 15 points and 14 rebounds for the winning side. Four Al Arabi players scored in double figures. Senegalese center Adama Diakhite (205-1997) came up with 8 points and 14 rebounds and the former international forward Nedim Muslic (196-1998) added 11 points and 11 rebounds respectively for Al Gharafa in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Al Arabi have a solid series of four victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with Al Ahli. Loser Al Gharafa keeps the third place with seven games lost. They share the position with Al Rayyan.
Top scorers:
Al Gharafa: M.Yousuf Mohmmed 16+3reb, N.Muslic 11+11reb+2ast, A.Saad 10+6reb+2ast, D.Adama 8+14reb+2ast, E.Ziyad 6+2reb, J.Moultrie 4+1reb+1ast
Al Arabi: A.Mustafa 35+3reb+3ast, K.Abdi 15+14reb+1ast, W.Lemon Jr. 11+10reb+6ast, C.Singleton 10+3reb+4ast, M.Lashin 6+3reb, A.Khaled 2+3reb+1ast

Al Wakrah - Al Ahli D. 54-81

Rather predictable result when first ranked Al Ahli (13-3) rolled over on the road 5th ranked Al Wakrah (7-9) 81-54 on Saturday. Al Ahli forced 26 Al Wakrah turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. It was an exceptional evening for international forward Mohammed Abbasher (198-2004) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds. American guard Bruce Massey (190-1990, college: MTSU, agency: BIG) accounted for 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals for the winning side. Five Al Ahli D. players scored in double figures. Palestinian-Jordanian forward Hashem Abbaas (198-1999, college: Bridgeport) came up with 11 points and 9 rebounds and American guard Darious Clark (193-1990, college: Slippery Rock, agency: Diamond Sports) added 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for Al Wakrah in the defeat. Al Wakrah's coach gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Al Ahli have an impressive series of five victories in a row. They maintain first place with 13-3 record, which they share with Al Arabi. Al Wakrah lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the fifth position with nine games lost. They share it with Qatar Club.
Top scorers:
Al Wakrah: H.Abbaas 11+9reb+2ast, G.Abdirahman 10+5reb, D.Clark 8+5reb+4ast, K.Brown 8+3reb+2ast, J.Mubarak 7+9reb+1ast, N.Mame Souleye 6+1reb+1ast
Al Ahli D.: B.Massey 20+6reb+7ast, A.Mohammed 17+15reb+2ast, N.Seydou 14+2reb+3ast, S.Toutziarakis 12+8reb+1ast, A.Sultan 11+3reb+1ast, D.Mohmoud 5+2reb+2ast

Al Wakrah - Al Shamal 84-89

There was a minor upset when 5th ranked Al Wakrah (7-9) lost at home to eighth ranked Al Shamal (5-11) 89-84 on Sunday. It was an exceptional evening for Nigerian point guard Uchenna Iroegbu (183-1996, college: Stony Brook) who led the winners and scored 26 points and 4 assists. American center Tyler Harris (208-1993, college: Auburn, agency: AG Sports Solutions) accounted for 23 points and 9 rebounds (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) for the winning side. Iroegbu is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. American point guard Ken Brown (180-1989, college: Philander Smith) came up with a double-double by scoring 26 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists and the other American import guard Darious Clark (193-1990, college: Slippery Rock, agency: Diamond Sports) added 15 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Al Wakrah in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Shamal maintains eighth place with 5-11 record. Al Wakrah lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the fifth position with nine games lost. They share it with Qatar Club.
Top scorers:
Al Wakrah: K.Brown 26+11reb+6ast, D.Clark 15+7reb+3ast, N.Mame Souleye 14+6reb+2ast, H.Abbaas 13+6reb+2ast, J.Mubarak 9+11reb, G.Abdirahman 6+7reb+1ast
Al Shamal: U.Iroegbu 26+4reb+4ast, T.Harris 23+9reb+1ast, S.Osayande 15+7reb+1ast, M.Talla 12+3reb+2ast, A.Fadi 8+10reb+9ast, M.Fakhirah 3+9reb+1ast