SBL Round 1 (Regular Season): Al Ahli outgun Al Safa

The Regular Season in SBL just started. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Al Ahli defeated Al Safa in Jeddah 99-86. Al Ahli shot 65.5 percent from the field. American forward Devin Ebanks (206-1989, college: WVU) stepped up and scored 22 points and 5 assists for the winners and the former international point guard Marzouq Almuwallad (180-1992) chipped in 17 points and 4 assists. Al Ahli's coach Ali Alsanhani used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the losing side American guard Dallas Morgan (185, college: CMU) responded with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Al Safa will play next round against Ittihad trying to get back on the winning streak. Al Ahli will try to continue on its current victory against Al Khaleej on the road.
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Al Salam in Al-Awamiyah. Hosts were rolled over by Al Wehda 98-66. American guard Donte McGill (190-1995, college: FIU, agency: Green Sports Management) nailed 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side and Mamadou Samb accounted for 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Al Wehda's coach felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. American-Bahrain Wayne Chism (206-1987, college: Tennessee) came up with a double-double by scoring 26 points and 17 rebounds for Al Salam in the defeat. Al Wehda will play against Al Fateh in Al Hasa in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Al Salam will play on the road against Ohod in Medina to get more than just one victory in their record.
Al Nassr crushed at home Deba by 51 points 112-61, which is the biggest margin this round on Friday night. PJ Hardy fired 21 points, 7 assists and 4 steals for the winners. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play all 12 players saving starting five for next games. Josh Nicholas produced 34 points (!!!) and 4 assists for lost side. Al Nassr will meet Al Taawoun in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Deba will play against Al Hilal in Riyadh and hope to win that game.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 1: Ohod was destroyed by Al Fateh on the opponent's court 94-57. Ittihad managed to outperform Al Khaleej in a home game 81-76. Al Taawoun lost to Al Hilal on the road 69-113.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 27 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals by Antwan Scott of Al Hilal.



Al Fateh - Ohod 94-57

Al Fateh used a home court advantage and crushed the opponent from Medina 94-57 on Friday night. Al Fateh looked well-organized offensively handing out 31 assists comparing to just 8 passes made by Ohod's players. American-Dominican forward Edgar Sosa (189-1988, college: Louisville) fired 21 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. American forward Anthony Fairley (203-1999, college: Miles) chipped in a double-double by scoring 12 points and 12 rebounds. Four Al Fateh players scored in double figures. Coach George Geagea's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play all 12 players saving starting five for next games. The former international forward Ahmed Almukhtar (191-1993) produced 16 points and 7 rebounds and Iraqi center Ahmed Obaidi (207-1998) added 11 points and 8 rebounds respectively for lost side. Al Fateh will meet Al Wehda in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Ohod will play against Al Salam and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Al Fateh: E.Sosa 21+6reb+7ast, A.Mohammed 13+3reb+7ast, A.Fairley 12+12reb+3ast, H.Al-Mohammed 10+3reb+1ast, A.Al-Tamamr 8+1reb+1ast, A.Ali 6+2reb+3ast
Ohod: A.Almukhtar 16+7reb+1ast, F.Abdulrahman 13+3reb+1ast, A.Obaidi 11+8reb+1ast, S.Mohammad 7+9reb, A.Alhosawi 6+2reb, A.Osama 2+2reb+1ast

Al Ahli - Al Safa 99-86

Al Ahli defeated Al Safa in Jeddah 99-86. Al Ahli shot 65.5 percent from the field. American forward Devin Ebanks (206-1989, college: WVU) stepped up and scored 22 points and 5 assists for the winners and the former international point guard Marzouq Almuwallad (180-1992) chipped in 17 points and 4 assists. Al Ahli's coach Ali Alsanhani used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the losing side American guard Dallas Morgan (185, college: CMU) responded with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and the other American import forward Dikembe Dixson (201-1996, college: UIC) scored 23 points. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Safa will play next round against Ittihad trying to get back on the winning streak. Al Ahli will try to continue on its current victory against Al Khaleej on the road.
Top scorers:
Al Ahli: D.Ebanks 22+3reb+5ast, M.Almuwallad 17+2reb+4ast, A.Shubayli 16+3reb+1ast, B.Ayman 14+2reb+3ast, K.Kadji 12+2reb, D.Liggins 9+10reb+3ast
Al Safa: D.Morgan 23+5reb+5ast, D.Dixson 23+2reb, I.Copeland 18+6reb, A.Rayan 13+1reb+2ast, A.Ali 5+2reb+1ast, A.Hassan 4+1reb+3ast

Ittihad - Al Khaleej 81-76

Rather predictable result in Jeddah where Ittihad defeated Al Khaleej 81-76 on Friday. The former international center Mohammed AlMarwani (206-1989) fired a double-double by scoring 13 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. American guard Kevin Murphy (197-1990, college: Tenn Tech) chipped in 17 points and 6 rebounds. Ittihad's coach Mohamed Kardani used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Congolese-French forward Nobel Boungou-Colo (202-1988) produced a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists and Derek Cedor added 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists respectively for lost side. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Ittihad will meet Al Safa in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Al Khaleej will play against Al Ahli and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Ittihad: J.Edwards Jr. 20+3reb+3ast, K.Murphy 17+6reb+3ast, M.AlMarwani 13+13reb+4ast, F.Abdulrahman 12+5reb+6ast, A.Yasir 12+7reb, L.Williams 4+9reb
Al Khaleej: N.Boungou-Colo 22+11reb+5ast, M.Almutairi 15+4reb, C.Derek 13+6reb+6ast, A.Mosa 10+7reb+1ast, E.Ibrahim 10+8reb+1ast, A.James 4+2reb+2ast

Al Salam - Al Wehda 66-98

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Al Salam in Al-Awamiyah. Hosts were rolled over by Al Wehda 98-66. Al Wehda forced 20 Al Salam turnovers. American guard Donte McGill (190-1995, college: FIU, agency: Green Sports Management) nailed 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side and Senegalese-Spanish power forward Mamadou Samb (210-1989) accounted for 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. McGill is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Four Al Wehda players scored in double figures. Al Wehda's coach felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. American-Bahrain Wayne Chism (206-1987, college: Tennessee) came up with a double-double by scoring 26 points and 17 rebounds and American forward Tony Farmer (201-1994, college: Lee JC) added 22 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for Al Salam in the defeat. Al Wehda will play against Al Fateh in Al Hasa in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Al Salam will play on the road against Ohod in Medina to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
Al Wehda: D.McGill 39+8reb+5ast, M.Samb 15+10reb+4ast, A.Mohammed 14+4reb+5ast, M.Ahmed 12+9reb, M.Thamer 7+2reb+2ast, B.Hussam 5+7reb+1ast
Al Salam: W.Chism 26+17reb+1ast, T.Farmer 22+14reb+4ast, Y.Fallatah 6, E.Fawaz 4+1reb, A.Hadi 3, A.Bader 3+4reb

Al Nassr - Deba 112-61

Al Nassr crushed at home Deba by 51 points 112-61, which is the biggest margin this round on Friday night. Al Nassr dominated down low during the game scoring 46 of its points in the paint compared to Deba's 24 and had 21 for 29 from the free-throw line, while Deba only scored four points from the stripe. They outrebounded Deba 47-23 including a 34-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Nassr looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists comparing to just 12 passes made by Deba's players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Al Nassr made 7 blocks. American guard PJ Hardy (185-1998, college: Louisiana) fired 21 points, 7 assists and 4 steals for the winners. His fellow American import Carlton Bragg Jr. (208-1995, college: N.Mexico) chipped in 19 points and 7 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Five Al Nassr 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. American-Jamaican guard Josh Nicholas (190-1998, college: ULM) produced 34 points (!!!) and 4 assists and Eyad Alrashid added 14 points and 11 rebounds respectively for lost side. Al Nassr will meet Al Taawoun in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Deba will play against Al Hilal in Riyadh and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Al Nassr: P.Purifoy 21+6reb+1ast, P.Hardy 21+2reb+7ast, C.Bragg Jr. 19+7reb+2ast, A.Jallas Nasser 12+6reb+4ast, K.Musab 12+5reb+5ast, F.Aldawsari 9+3reb+3ast
Deba: J.Nicholas 34+2reb+4ast, A.Eyad 14+11reb+1ast, A.Abdullah 6+1reb+4ast, I.Suhail 4+5reb+2ast, H.Hassan 3+1reb+1ast, M.Abdulrahman 0

Al Hilal - Al Taawoun 113-69

Not a big story in a game in Riyadh where Al Taawoun was rolled over by Al Hilal 113-69 on Friday. Al Hilal forced 24 Al Taawoun turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. American guard Antwan Scott (185-1992, college: Colorado St.) fired a double-double by scoring 27 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals for the winners. His fellow American import forward Dantez Walton (200-1997, college: NKU) chipped in 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Coach 's team had such big advantage that he gave the chance to play for all 12 players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. American guard Jordan Barham (194-1994, college: Davidson) produced 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and Bosnian center Markus Loncar (213-1996) added 13 points and 13 rebounds respectively for lost side. Five Al Hilal and four Al Taawoun players scored in double figures. Al Hilal will meet at home Deba in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Al Taawoun will play against Al Nassr and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Al Hilal: A.Scott 27+8reb+12ast, A.Mohammed 20+3reb, N.Alabsi 18+2reb+1ast, D.Walton 16+7reb+4ast, K.McDaniels 15+7reb+3ast, A.Abdelmalek 7+5reb+4ast
Al Taawoun: J.Barham 22+7reb+5ast, M.Loncar 13+13reb, A.Khalid 11+10reb+2ast, D.Gilmore 10+2reb+2ast, A.Alwaleed 8+2reb+2ast, A.Abdullah 3