SBL Round 9: Al Hilal keeps a leadership position

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game had a very big importance for third-ranked Al Hilal as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Al Hilal smashed 10th ranked Al Nahda in Riyadh 101-66. Al Hilal dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Al Nahda's 26. They outrebounded Al Nahda 48-31 including a 37-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Hilal looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 14 passes made by Al Nahda's players. The best player for the winners was American guard Antwan Scott (185-92, college: Colorado St.) who had a triple-double by scoring 28 points, 13 rebounds, 17 assists and 4 steals. International center Mohammed Alsuwailem (211-98) chipped in 28 points and 12 rebounds (on 13-of-16 shooting from the field). Al Hilal's coach Stratos Koukoulekidis felt very confident that he used 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was Marwan Karkoura who recorded 20 points and 5 rebounds. Al Hilal have a solid series of three victories in a row. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Al Nahda lost seventh consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with seven games lost. Al Nahda will play next round against Abha trying to get back on the winning streak. Al Hilal will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Al Ittihad in Jeddah.
Important game to mention about took place in Mecca. Second ranked Ohod (8-1) saved a 1-point victory on the road edging 6th ranked Al Wehda (5-4) 71-70 on Friday evening. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Al Wehda. It was a good game for American guard Shane Rector (188-94, college: Utah St.) who saved his team from a defeat with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Fahad Belal contributed with 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. American-Bahrain Wayne Chism (206-87, college: Tennessee) answered with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 23 rebounds for Al Wehda. Ohod have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain second place with 8-1 record behind leader Al Hilal, which they share with Al Nasr. Al Wehda at the other side keeps the sixth position with four games lost. Ohod will play against Al Fateh (#8) in Al Hasa in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Al Wehda will play on the road against the league's leader Al Hilal in Riyadh and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Leader Al Nasr delivered the eighth victory on Friday night. This time they crushed 8th ranked Al Salam (3-6) 104-85 in Riyadh. Chris Johnson stepped up with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Al Nasr's coach used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. The best for the losing side was Nick Stover with 28 points. Despite that victory Al Nasr went down to second position due to points difference, which they share with Ohod. Newly promoted Al Salam dropped to the ninth place with six games lost. Al Nasr will meet at home Al Ansar (#5) in the next round. Al Salam will play against Duba Club (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 9 Al Ahly crushed Abha in Jeddah 94-42. Al Fateh smashed Duba Club at home 101-65.

Al Nasr - Al Salam 104-85

Leader Al Nasr delivered the eighth victory on Friday night. This time they crushed 8th ranked Al Salam (3-6) 104-85 in Riyadh. Al Nasr shot the lights out from three sinking 19 long-distance shots on high 51.4 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. American power forward Chris Johnson (210-85, college: LSU) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners and the former international guard Khalid Abdel-Gabar (188-90, college: Windsor) chipped in 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Five Al Nasr players scored in double figures. Al Nasr's coach used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. The best for the losing side was American forward Nick Stover (198-93, college: USA) with 28 points and Algerian center Touhami Ghezzoul (209-87, college: N.Dakota St.) produced a double-double by scoring 16 points and 18 rebounds. Despite that victory Al Nasr went down to second position due to points difference, which they share with Ohod. Newly promoted Al Salam dropped to the ninth place with six games lost. Al Nasr will meet at home Al Ansar (#5) in the next round. Al Salam will play against Duba Club (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Nasr: K.Abdel-Gabar 22+8reb+8ast, C.Johnson 22+16reb+5ast, A.Yazid 12+1reb+1ast, J.Al Kabe 11+4reb+2ast, K.Musab 10+5reb+2ast, A.Ayoub 10+2reb
Al Salam: N.Stover 28+4reb+3ast, S.Rashad 23+4reb+2ast, T.Ghezzoul 16+18reb+1ast, A.Bader 8+2reb+2ast, I.Mohammed 6+1reb, H.Alnamer 4+5reb+4ast

Abha - Al Ahly 42-94

There was no surprise when bottom-ranked Abha (0-9) was crushed at home by seventh ranked Al Ahly (3-5) 94-42 on Friday. Al Ahly dominated down low during the game scoring 70 of its points in the paint compared to Abha's 22. They outrebounded Abha 49-25 including a 18-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. Canadian-Jordanian guard Freddy Ibrahim (190-96, college: Tampa) stepped up and scored 31 points and 4 assists for the winners and American forward Steve Taylor Jr. (206-93, college: Toledo) chipped in 10 points and 13 rebounds. Four Al Ahly players scored in double figures. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play all 12 players saving starting five for next games. The best for the losing side was Abdullah Al Monabihi with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists and Sami ALkhaibari scored 10 points and 7 rebounds. Al Ahly maintains seventh place with 3-5 record, which they share with Al Fateh. Newly promoted Abha still closes the standings with nine games lost. Al Ahly will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Abha will play against Al Nahda (#10) in Al Khobar and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Al Ahly: F.Ibrahim 31+3reb+4ast, A.Abdulrahman 24+1reb+1ast, M.Mohammed 12+7reb+1ast, S.Taylor Jr. 10+13reb+3ast, A.Shubayli 4+5reb+1ast, A.Abdulrahman 4+1ast
Abha: A.Sami 10+7reb+2ast, A.Mohannad 10+3reb+2ast, A.Monabihi Abdullah 8+9reb+4ast, A.Abdullah 6+1reb, S.Mohaned 6+2reb+3ast, A.Tareq 2+3reb

Al Fateh - Duba Club 101-65

No shocking result in a game in Al Hasa where ninth ranked Al Fateh (3-5) smashed 11th ranked Duba Club (1-8) 101-65 on Friday. Al Fateh looked well-organized offensively handing out 31 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Duba Club's players. Algerian forward Mohamed Harat (198-90) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals for the winners and Nigerian-American guard Michael Efevberha (195-84, college: CSUN) chipped in 10 points and 10 assists. Four Al Fateh players scored in double figures. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play all 12 players saving starting five for next games. The best for the losing side was Ahmed Aldosoei with 24 points and 9 rebounds and Jonathan Dojbo scored 19 points and 5 rebounds. Al Fateh moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Al Ahly. Newly promoted Duba Club keeps the eleventh position with eight games lost. Al Fateh will meet higher ranked Ohod (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Duba Club will play against Al Salam (#9) in Al-Awamiyah and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Fateh: M.Harat 21+12reb+7ast, A.Moussaad Mohamad 20+3reb+1ast, M.Al-Saqer 16+4reb+4ast, M.Efevberha 10+4reb+10ast, A.Abdullah 9+1ast, A.Hesham 8+1reb+3ast
Duba Club: A.Ahmed 24+9reb+2ast, D.Jonathan 19+5reb+3ast, A.Osama 8+5reb+1ast, A.Abdullah 6+3reb+1ast, A.Eyad 4+1reb+2ast, A.Talal 2+3reb

Al Wehda - Ohod 70-71

Important game to mention about took place in Mecca. Second ranked Ohod (8-1) saved a 1-point victory on the road edging 6th ranked Al Wehda (5-4) 71-70 on Friday evening. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Al Wehda. Strangely Al Wehda outrebounded Ohod 45-33 including 33 on the defensive glass. It was a good game for American guard Shane Rector (188-94, college: Utah St.) who saved his team from a defeat with 23 points and 8 rebounds. The former international point guard Fahad Belal (181-91) contributed with 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Four Ohod players scored in double figures. American-Bahrain Wayne Chism (206-87, college: Tennessee) answered with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 23 rebounds and the former international center Mohammed AlMarwani (206-89) added 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort for Al Wehda. Ohod have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain second place with 8-1 record behind leader Al Hilal, which they share with Al Nasr. Al Wehda at the other side keeps the sixth position with four games lost. Ohod will play against Al Fateh (#8) in Al Hasa in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Al Wehda will play on the road against the league's leader Al Hilal in Riyadh and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Ohod: S.Rector 23+8reb+3ast, F.Belal 18+5reb+2ast, N.Abojalas 14+7reb+3ast, K.Boukichou 13+7reb+3ast, A.Ahmed 3+3reb, A.Abdulaziz 0
Al Wehda: W.Chism 20+23reb+1ast, B.Husam 18+3reb+3ast, M.AlMarwani 15+9reb+4ast, F.Abdulrahman 8+4reb+2ast, R.Gunday 6+3reb+9ast, A.Mohammed 3+1reb+7ast

Al Hilal - Al Nahda 101-66

The game had a very big importance for third-ranked Al Hilal as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Al Hilal smashed 10th ranked Al Nahda in Riyadh 101-66. Al Hilal dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Al Nahda's 26. They outrebounded Al Nahda 48-31 including a 37-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Hilal looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 14 passes made by Al Nahda's players. The best player for the winners was American guard Antwan Scott (185-92, college: Colorado St.) who had a triple-double by scoring 28 points, 13 rebounds, 17 assists and 4 steals. International center Mohammed Alsuwailem (211-98) chipped in a double-double by scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds (on 13-of-16 shooting from the field). Four Al Hilal players scored in double figures. Al Hilal's coach Stratos Koukoulekidis felt very confident that he used 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was Marwan Karkoura who recorded 20 points and 5 rebounds and American center Malik Wineglass (203-93, college: Harris-Stowe St.) added 17 points and 6 rebounds respectively. Al Hilal have a solid series of three victories in a row. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Al Nahda lost seventh consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with seven games lost. Al Nahda will play next round against Abha trying to get back on the winning streak. Al Hilal will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Al Ittihad in Jeddah.
Top scorers:
Al Hilal: A.Mohammed 28+12reb+2ast, A.Scott 28+13reb+17ast, H.Abbas 16+7reb+2ast, H.Zakaria 10+4reb+2ast, O.Albargawi 9+6reb+3ast, N.Alabsi 8+3reb+2ast
Al Nahda: K.Marwan 20+5reb+3ast, M.Wineglass 17+6reb+3ast, F.Fahad 9+2reb+1ast, K.Abdulrahman 8+1reb+1ast, B.Abdulmajeed 5+2reb+1ast, A.Turki 4+11reb+1ast



Tags : ANTWAN SCOTT, AL HILAL RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIAN BASKETBALL