QBL Round 17 (Regular Season): Derby game ends with Al Rayyan's defeat of Qatar Club

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#1) and Qatar Club (#8). Qatar Club was crushed at home by 25 points 72-97 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Strangely Qatar Club outrebounded Al Rayyan 39-27 including a 16-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. Al Rayyan shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 58.3 percentage. International point guard Abdulla Mousa (184-2008) orchestrated the victory by scoring 31 points and 4 assists. American Rion Brown (198, college: Miami, FL) contributed with 19 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Al Rayyan's coach Stathis Nerantzakis felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American forward Terrence Thompson (203-1994, college: Wake Forest) answered with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 24 rebounds for Qatar Club. Al Rayyan (14-1) have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. They maintain first place. Qatar Club lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 14 games lost. Al Rayyan's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Ahli.
Another exciting game was again a derby between two teams from Doha: Al Arabi (#2) and Al Gharafa (#7). Al Gharafa was crushed at home by 20 points 97-117 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. Bahrain point guard Mustafa Ali (177-2002) stepped up and scored 31 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners and Ousmanediatta Dieng chipped in 25 points and 8 rebounds. Al Arabi's coach Hatem Mamlouk allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American forward Josh Hall (206-2000) responded with 28 points and 9 rebounds. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for Al Arabi. Defending champion maintains second place with 12-2 record having just three points less than leader Al Rayyan. Al Gharafa at the other side keeps the seventh position with 11 games lost. Al Arabi's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Sadd.
A very close game took place in Al Khor (derby !!!) between Al Gharafa and Al Khor. Seventh ranked Al Gharafa (5-11) got a very close victory on the road over 9th ranked Al Khor (1-13). Al Gharafa managed to escape with a 3-point win 122-119 on Wednesday evening. Jesse Zarzuela nailed 48 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side. Jesse Jones came up with 50 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 9 assists for Al Khor in the defeat. Al Gharafa maintains seventh place with 5-11 record. Al Khor lost their seventh game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with 13 games lost. Al Gharafa's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena .

In the last game of round 17 Qatar Club was beaten by Al Wakrah on the road 92-85.



Al Khor - Al Gharafa 119-122

A very close game took place in Al Khor (derby !!!) between Al Gharafa and Al Khor. Seventh ranked Al Gharafa (5-11) got a very close victory on the road over 9th ranked Al Khor (1-13). Al Gharafa managed to escape with a 3-point win 122-119 on Wednesday evening. Al Gharafa made 23-of-29 free shots (79.3 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Colombian-Dominican point guard Jesse Zarzuela (188, college: Oregon) nailed 48 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side and American forward Josh Hall (206-2000) accounted for 28 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Hall is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Five Al Gharafa players scored in double figures. American point guard Jesse Jones (183, college: Bridgeport) came up with 50 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 9 assists and Italian-Serbian Lazar Trunic (198-2000) added 33 points (!!!) and 14 rebounds respectively for Al Khor in the defeat. Al Gharafa maintains seventh place with 5-11 record. Al Khor lost their seventh game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with 13 games lost. Al Gharafa's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena .
Top scorers:
Al Gharafa: Z.Jesse 48+8reb+5ast, H.Josh 28+7reb+4ast, W.Rashad 22+3reb+7ast, N.Muslic 12+11reb+1ast, R.Al-Abdulla 10+2reb+3ast, M.Mohmmed 2+5reb+2ast
Al Khor: J.Jones 50+8reb+9ast, L.Trunic 33+14reb+3ast, D.Djibrirou 26+8reb+2ast, A.Adam 5+1reb, D.Abdoukhader 5+4reb+2ast, N.Karim 0+1reb

Qatar Club - Al Rayyan 72-97

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Doha: Al Rayyan (#1) and Qatar Club (#8). Qatar Club was crushed at home by 25 points 72-97 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Strangely Qatar Club outrebounded Al Rayyan 39-27 including a 16-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. Al Rayyan shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 58.3 percentage. International point guard Abdulla Mousa (184-2008) orchestrated the victory by scoring 31 points and 4 assists. American Rion Brown (198, college: Miami, FL) contributed with 19 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Al Rayyan's coach Stathis Nerantzakis felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American forward Terrence Thompson (203-1994, college: Wake Forest) answered with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 24 rebounds and American-Jamaican guard Josh Nicholas (190-1998, college: ULM) added 22 points in the effort for Qatar Club. Al Rayyan (14-1) have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. They maintain first place. Qatar Club lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 14 games lost. Al Rayyan's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Ahli.
Top scorers:
Al Rayyan: A.Mousa 31+1reb+4ast, F.Rolands 19+6reb+2ast, B.Rion 19+6reb+3ast, I.Seck 8+2reb+1ast, D.Babacar 8+2reb+4ast, H.Tyler 4+3reb
Qatar Club: T.Thompson 23+24reb, J.Nicholas 22+2reb+3ast, J.Dejan 15+5reb+2ast, S.Asem 6+3reb+1ast, K.Kolako 4+2reb, A.Adam 2+2reb+1ast

Al Wakrah - Qatar Club 92-85

No shocking result in a game when fifth ranked Al Wakrah (8-8) beat at home 8th ranked Qatar Club (2-14) 92-85 on Saturday. Al Wakrah shot the lights out from three sinking 17 long-distance shots on high 63.0 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. American-Mali guard Bakary Camara (198-1998, college: Bridgeport) nailed 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side and American guard Aaron Mitchell (188-1989, college: Longwood) accounted for 14 points, 10 assists and 4 steals. Al Wakrah's coach Ihab Galal used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. American forward Terrence Thompson (203-1994, college: Wake Forest) came up with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 21 rebounds and American-Jamaican guard Josh Nicholas (190-1998, college: ULM) added 25 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists respectively for Qatar Club in the defeat. Five Al Wakrah and four Qatar Club players scored in double figures. Al Wakrah maintains fifth place with 8-8 record. Qatar Club lost their sixth game in a row. They keep the eighth position with 14 games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Wakrah: C.Bakary 22+8reb+5ast, C.Darious 18+2reb+3ast, M.Talla 16+1reb+3ast, M.Aaron 14+3reb+10ast, N.Souleye 11+2reb, A.Matalkeh 4+2reb
Qatar Club: J.Nicholas 25+5reb+8ast, J.Dejan 23+4reb+3ast, T.Thompson 22+21reb+1ast, A.Mitrovic 10+2reb, S.Asem 5+2reb+1ast, A.Rayan 0

Al Gharafa - Al Arabi 97-117

Another exciting game was again a derby between two teams from Doha: Al Arabi (#2) and Al Gharafa (#7). Al Gharafa was crushed at home by 20 points 97-117 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. Al Arabi players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. Bahrain point guard Mustafa Ali (177-2002) stepped up and scored 31 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners and the former international swingman Ousmanediatta Dieng (196-2001) chipped in 25 points and 8 rebounds. Al Arabi's coach Hatem Mamlouk allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American forward Josh Hall (206-2000) responded with 28 points and 9 rebounds and the other American import guard Rashad Williams (188-2000, college: UAPB) scored 22 points. Five Al Arabi and four Al Gharafa players scored in double figures. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for Al Arabi. Defending champion maintains second place with 12-2 record having just three points less than leader Al Rayyan. Al Gharafa at the other side keeps the seventh position with 11 games lost. Al Arabi's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Doha to the arena Al Sadd.
Top scorers:
Al Arabi: A.Mustafa 31+6reb+6ast, O.Dieng 25+8reb+1ast, E.Kikanovic 16+7reb+3ast, K.Roushdy 13+3reb+2ast, Y.Abdelrahman 10+5reb+1ast, B.Dee 10+4reb+8ast
Al Gharafa: J.Hall 28+9reb+3ast, R.Williams 22+3reb+2ast, J.Zarzuela 14+3reb+3ast, M.Nedim 13+10reb+2ast, A.Raslan 9+1reb+1ast, M.Mohd 7+7reb+2ast