QBL Round 9 (Regular Season): Al Arabi lose to Al Wakrah

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Round 9 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Al Arabi (6-1). They were defeated by fourth ranked Al Wakrah (5-3) 106-88 on Saturday night. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Al Arabi. Al Wakrah shot 60.6 percent from the field. They shot the lights out from three sinking 19 long-distance shots on high 55.9 percentage. Al Wakrah looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. American-Haitian forward Wes Alcegaire (198-1994, college: BGSU, agency: BIG) stepped up and scored 32 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners and American guard Aaron Mitchell (188-1989, college: Longwood) chipped in 18 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists. The best for the losing side was Bahrain point guard Mustafa Ali (177-2002) with 23 points. Al Arabi's coach Hatem Mamlouk rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Al Wakrah moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Sadd. Defending champion Al Arabi dropped to the second position with one game lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Al Rayyan.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#2) and Al Sadd (#3). Al Sadd was defeated at home 83-93 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Al Sadd. American guard Malik Curry (185-1999, college: WVU) nailed a double-double by scoring 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side and Rolands Freimanis accounted for 30 points and 7 rebounds. American guard Steven Green (196-1993, college: OKBU) came up with a double-double by scoring 25 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists for Al Sadd in the defeat. Al Rayyan (7-1) keeps a position of league leader. Al Sadd at the other side keeps the third place with three games lost. They share the position with Al Wakrah.
Qatar Club has finally registered their first victory this season after seven consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Al Gharafa (2-6) 111-99 on Monday. The best player for the winners was Josh Nicholas who scored 33 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 8 assists (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!). At the other side the best for losing team was Rashad Williams who recorded 29 points and 7 assists. Qatar Club (1-7) left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Al Khor. Loser Al Gharafa keeps the seventh position with six games lost.

In the last game of round 9 Al Ahli destroyed Al Khor on the opponent's court 118-94.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 22 points and 14 rebounds by Malik Toppin of Al Sadd.



Al Khor - Al Ahli D. 94-118

Rather expected game when 8th ranked Al Khor (1-7) was crushed at home by sixth ranked Al Ahli (4-4) 118-94 on Monday. Al Ahli dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to Al Khor's 28 and made 19-of-23 free shots (82.6 percent) during the game. Al Ahli forced 24 Al Khor turnovers and outrebounded them 48-21 including a 19-2 advantage in offensive rebounds. Al Ahli looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 12 passes made by Al Khor's players. The best player for the winners was American power forward Raekwon Rogers (203-1999, college: Wagner, agency: One Motive Sports) who had a double-double by scoring 24 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. His fellow American import guard Nigel Johnson (187-1995, college: Virginia) chipped in 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Rogers is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top summer league for players who want to play basketball overseas. At the other side the best for losing team was American point guard Jesse Jones (183, college: Bridgeport) who recorded 37 points (!!!), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals and Italian-Serbian Lazar Trunic (198-2000) added 30 points and 6 rebounds respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Ahli maintains sixth place with 4-4 record. Loser Al Khor keeps the eighth position with seven games lost. They share it with Qatar Club.
Top scorers:
Al Ahli D.: J.Nigel 26+5reb+5ast, R.Raekwon 24+11reb+4ast, M.Abbasher 22+5reb+5ast, M.Ndao 14+3reb+2ast, E.Radi 9+3reb+1ast, Y.Yagoub 8+5ast
Al Khor: J.Jones 37+6reb+5ast, L.Trunic 30+6reb+3ast, N.Karim 12+2reb+2ast, A.Adam 10+1ast, K.Mohamed 2+2reb+1ast, D.Abdoukhader 2+2reb

Qatar Club - Al Gharafa 111-99

Qatar Club has finally registered their first victory this season after seven consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Al Gharafa (2-6) 111-99 on Monday. Qatar Club made 23-of-28 free shots (82.1 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was American-Jamaican guard Josh Nicholas (190-1998, college: ULM) who scored 33 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 8 assists (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!). Dejan Janjic chipped in 25 points and 7 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was American guard Rashad Williams (188-2000, college: UAPB) who recorded 29 points and 7 assists and the other American import forward Josh Hall (206-2000) added 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists respectively. Four Qatar Club and five Al Gharafa players scored in double figures. Qatar Club (1-7) left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Al Khor. Loser Al Gharafa keeps the seventh position with six games lost.
Top scorers:
Qatar Club: N.Josh 33+8reb+8ast, M.Aleksandar 27+3reb+2ast, D.Janjic 25+7reb+3ast, T.Terrence 15+17reb, M.Tamer 6+1reb+1ast, A.Shalfawi 5+2reb
Al Gharafa: R.Williams 29+1reb+7ast, J.Hall 22+8reb+6ast, M.Nedim 14+10reb+2ast, M.Mohd 12+8reb, G.Mykoniatis 11+1reb+1ast, A.Raslan 9+1reb+3ast

Al Wakrah - Al Arabi 106-88

Round 9 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Al Arabi (6-1). They were defeated by fourth ranked Al Wakrah (5-3) 106-88 on Saturday night. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Al Arabi. Al Wakrah shot 60.6 percent from the field. They shot the lights out from three sinking 19 long-distance shots on high 55.9 percentage. Al Wakrah looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. American-Haitian forward Wes Alcegaire (198-1994, college: BGSU, agency: BIG) stepped up and scored 32 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners and American guard Aaron Mitchell (188-1989, college: Longwood) chipped in 18 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists. The best for the losing side was Bahrain point guard Mustafa Ali (177-2002) with 23 points and American forward Jeremy Tyler (208-1991, college: Louisville) scored 12 points and 5 rebounds. Five Al Wakrah and four Al Arabi players scored in double figures. Al Arabi's coach Hatem Mamlouk rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Al Wakrah moved-up to third place, which they share with Al Sadd. Defending champion Al Arabi dropped to the second position with one game lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Al Rayyan.
Top scorers:
Al Wakrah: A.Wes 32+9reb+5ast, C.Bakary 24+6reb+5ast, M.Aaron 18+9reb+10ast, N.Souleye 15+4reb+2ast, M.Talla 14, M.Jama 3+3reb
Al Arabi: M.Ali 23+2reb+3ast, J.Tyler 12+5reb, A.Yahya 12+4reb+1ast, D.Ousmanediatta 11+1reb+1ast, A.Saad 9+4reb+2ast, A.Omar 7+5reb

Al Sadd - Al Rayyan 83-93

Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#2) and Al Sadd (#3). Al Sadd was defeated at home 83-93 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Al Sadd. American guard Malik Curry (185-1999, college: WVU) nailed a double-double by scoring 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side and Latvian Rolands Freimanis (209-1988) accounted for 30 points and 7 rebounds. Four Al Rayyan players scored in double figures. American guard Steven Green (196-1993, college: OKBU) came up with a double-double by scoring 25 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists and the other American import center Malik Toppin (206-1997, college: Salem) added 22 points and 14 rebounds (on 10-of-13 shooting from the field) respectively for Al Sadd in the defeat. Al Rayyan (7-1) keeps a position of league leader. Al Sadd at the other side keeps the third place with three games lost. They share the position with Al Wakrah.
Top scorers:
Al Rayyan: F.Rolands 30+7reb+1ast, C.Malik 23+12reb+6ast, H.Tyler 16+11reb+3ast, A.Mousa 13+6reb+4ast, B.Rion 7+3reb+1ast, D.Babacar 4+1ast
Al Sadd: S.Green 25+13reb+6ast, M.Toppin 22+14reb, F.Moustafa 13+2reb+7ast, S.Omar 8+1reb+3ast, C.Bratsiakos 8+1reb+2ast, A.Faisal 3+2reb