QBL Round 16 (Regular Season): Al Arabi is defeated by Al Rayyan in a derby game

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#1) and Al Arabi (#2). Al Arabi was defeated at home 75-80 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. Worth to mention a great performance of Bulgarian-American point guard Dee Bost (189-1989, college: MSU) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists and American guard Darious Clark (193-1990, college: Slippery Rock, agency: Diamond Sports) who added 23 points and 8 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side American guard Andrew Harrison (198-1994, college: Kentucky) responded with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Al Rayyan have a solid four-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 14-2 record. Al Arabi at the other side keeps the second place with four games lost.
Another interesting game was again a derby between two teams from Doha: Al Ahli D. (#4) and Al Gharafa (#6). Al Ahli D. (10-6) won against visiting Al Gharafa (5-11) 81-66. The winners were led by American point guard Armin Cane (188-1993, college: Stockton) who scored that evening 34 points (!!!), 6 rebounds and 6 assists and Raekwon Rogers supported him with 21 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks. Even 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists by the former international Raslan Abdulla (188-2000) did not help to save the game for Al Gharafa. Al Ahli maintains fourth position with 10-6 record. Al Gharafa at the other side keeps the sixth place with 11 games lost.
Another interesting game was again a derby match of two local teams from Doha: Al Sadd (#3) and Qatar Club (#7). Qatar Club was smashed at home by 32 points 74-106 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. JVon McCormick fired 29 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners. Al Sadd's coach Kresimir Basic felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Dejan Janjic produced a double-double by scoring 35 points (!!!) and 13 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws) for lost side. Al Sadd maintains third position with 11-5 record having just three points less than leader Al Rayyan. Qatar Club lost seventh consecutive game. They keep the seventh place with 12 games lost. They share the position with Al Wakrah.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 16: Al Shamal lost to Al Wakrah on the opponent's court 95-96. Al Gharafa managed to outperform Al Khor in a home game 87-70. Al Arabi managed to beat Al Ahli on the road 88-82.



Al Arabi - Al Rayyan 75-80

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#1) and Al Arabi (#2). Al Arabi was defeated at home 75-80 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. Worth to mention a great performance of Bulgarian-American point guard Dee Bost (189-1989, college: MSU) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists and American guard Darious Clark (193-1990, college: Slippery Rock, agency: Diamond Sports) who added 23 points and 8 rebounds during the contest. Clark is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. At the losing side American guard Andrew Harrison (198-1994, college: Kentucky) responded with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and Bosnian center Elmedin Kikanovic (211-1988) produced a double-double by scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds. Al Rayyan have a solid four-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 14-2 record. Al Arabi at the other side keeps the second place with four games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Arabi: A.Harrison 20+6reb+6ast, E.Kikanovic 14+10reb+2ast, A.Abdelhaleem 11+6reb+1ast, A.Saeed 9+5reb, M.Ali 8+1reb+2ast, M.Mubarak 6+2reb
Al Rayyan: D.Clark 23+8reb+2ast, D.Bost 21+13reb+6ast, T.Harris 18+8reb+3ast, M.Haracic 6+4reb+1ast, A.Magassa 6+5reb, A.Mousa 6+3reb+1ast

Al Ahli D. - Al Gharafa 81-66

Another interesting game was again a derby between two teams from Doha: Al Ahli D. (#4) and Al Gharafa (#6). Al Ahli D. (10-6) won against visiting Al Gharafa (5-11) 81-66. Al Ahli forced 19 Al Gharafa turnovers and outrebounded them 46-35 including 32 on the defensive glass. The winners were led by American point guard Armin Cane (188-1993, college: Stockton) who scored that evening 34 points (!!!), 6 rebounds and 6 assists and the other American import power forward Raekwon Rogers (203-1999, college: Wagner, agency: One Motive Sports) supported him with 21 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks. Cane is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Even 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists by the former international Raslan Abdulla (188-2000) did not help to save the game for Al Gharafa. American guard JaCor Nelson (195-1999, college: Central Mo.) added 14 points and 8 rebounds for lost side. Al Ahli maintains fourth position with 10-6 record. Al Gharafa at the other side keeps the sixth place with 11 games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Gharafa: R.Abdulla 19+5reb+5ast, J.Nelson 14+8reb, A.Yakan 12+1reb+3ast, M.Mohmmed 8+8reb+2ast, A.Al-Abdullah 6+2reb, N.Muslic 5+8reb
Al Ahli D.: A.Cane 34+6reb+6ast, R.Rogers 21+20reb+3ast, M.Abbasher 9+7reb+3ast, O.Abdelbaset 9+5reb, E.Radi 5, M.Ndao 2+6reb+3ast

Qatar Club - Al Sadd 74-106

Another interesting game was again a derby match of two local teams from Doha: Al Sadd (#3) and Qatar Club (#7). Qatar Club was smashed at home by 32 points 74-106 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Al Sadd dominated down low during the game scoring 72 of its points in the paint compared to Qatar Club's 44. Al Sadd looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Qatar Club's players. American point guard JVon McCormick (183-1997, college: Auburn, agency: BIG) fired 29 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners. The other American import Grant Dressler (201-1997, college: Chaminade) chipped in a triple-double by scoring 19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Four Al Sadd players scored in double figures. Al Sadd's coach Kresimir Basic felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Serbian Dejan Janjic (198-1995) produced a double-double by scoring 35 points (!!!) and 13 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws) and naturalized Senegalese forward Alioune Ndoye (199-1986) added 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for lost side. Al Sadd maintains third position with 11-5 record having just three points less than leader Al Rayyan. Qatar Club lost seventh consecutive game. They keep the seventh place with 12 games lost. They share the position with Al Wakrah.
Top scorers:
Qatar Club: D.Janjic 35+13reb+3ast, A.Ndoye 14+9reb+5ast, A.Shalfawi 10+3reb+2ast, J.Cruz 8+3reb, G.Mykoniatis 5+2reb+1ast, K.Konate 2+6reb
Al Sadd: J.McCormick 29+8reb+8ast, G.Dressler 19+12reb+12ast, B.Dieng 15+3reb, N.Seydou 14+5reb+2ast, Y.Badr 9+2ast, U.Ahmed 9+1reb+1ast

Al Wakrah - Al Shamal 96-95

There was an upset when higher ranked Al Shamal (9-7) was edged on the road by ninth ranked Al Wakrah (4-12) 96-95 on Wednesday. American guard Aaron Mitchell (188-1989, college: Longwood) fired a double-double by scoring 22 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists for the winners. The other American import guard Sindou Diallo (194-2000, college: Montana Tech) chipped in 36 points (!!!) and 4 assists. Point guard Christian Casas (175-1996) produced 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) and American forward Emmanuel Egbuta (201-1996, college: Tennessee St.) added 18 points and 11 rebounds respectively for lost side. Five Al Shamal players scored in double figures. Al Wakrah moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Qatar Club. Loser Al Shamal keeps the fifth position with seven games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Shamal: C.Casas 21+7reb+4ast, E.Egbuta 18+11reb+1ast, M.Richards 15+5reb+9ast, G.Hajar 14+3reb+4ast, F.Avdic 14+7reb, T.Stoglin 7+1ast
Al Wakrah: S.Diallo 36+4reb+4ast, A.Mitchell 22+18reb+9ast, O.Saad 21+5reb+1ast, M.Talla 9+2reb+2ast, Y.Hussein 6+5reb, M.Jama 2+8reb+3ast

Al Gharafa - Al Khor 87-70

Rather predictable result in Doha where sixth ranked Al Gharafa (5-11) defeated bottom-ranked Al Khor (3-13) 87-70 on Thursday. Al Gharafa outrebounded Al Khor 49-36 including a 39-28 advantage in defensive rebounds. The former international forward Nedim Muslic (196-1998) fired a double-double by scoring 36 points (!!!) and 16 rebounds for the winners. American guard JaCor Nelson (195-1999, college: Central Mo.) chipped in 14 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Four Al Gharafa players scored in double figures. American guard Bailey Hardy (188-2000, college: LCU, agency: One Motive Sports) produced 23 points and 8 rebounds and point guard Shawki Ghanem (165-1996) added 15 points and 6 rebounds respectively for lost side. Al Gharafa maintains sixth position with 5-11 record. Loser Al Khor stay at the bottom place with 13 games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Khor: B.Hardy 23+8reb+2ast, S.Ghanem 15+6reb+2ast, M.Koami 13+1reb+2ast, D.Riak 9+10reb+1ast, Y.Yagoub 5+2reb+5ast, S.Haji 3
Al Gharafa: N.Muslic 36+16reb+1ast, A.Yakan 19+5reb+1ast, R.Abdulla 14+2reb+4ast, J.Nelson 14+9reb+6ast, M.Mohmmed 4+16reb+5ast, J.Al-jassim 0

Al Ahli D. - Al Arabi 82-88

Not a big story in a game in Doha where 4th ranked Al Ahli (10-6) was defeated by second ranked Al Arabi (12-4) 88-82 on Thursday. Bahrain point guard Mustafa Ali (177-2002) fired 25 points and 5 assists for the winners. Bosnian center Elmedin Kikanovic (211-1988) chipped in 20 points. American power forward Raekwon Rogers (203-1999, college: Wagner, agency: One Motive Sports) produced a double-double by scoring 17 points and 14 rebounds and international forward Mohammed Abbasher (198-2004) added 11 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for lost side. Four Al Ahli players scored in double figures. Al Arabi maintains second position with 12-4 record having just two points less than leader Al Rayyan. Loser Al Ahli D. keeps the fourth place with six games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Ahli D.: R.Rogers 17+14reb+1ast, E.Radi 12+1reb+1ast, M.Abbasher 11+9reb+5ast, O.Abdelbaset 10+7reb, M.Ndao 10+3reb+2ast, M.Darwish 8+5reb+2ast
Al Arabi: M.Ali 25+4reb+5ast, E.Kikanovic 20+4reb+1ast, A.Abdelhaleem 16+2reb+1ast, A.Harrison 9+6reb+1ast, A.Saeed 9+6reb+1ast, M.Mubarak 5+7reb+2ast