SBL Round 11 (Regular Season): Al Nasr is defeated by Al Ittihad

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game between third ranked Al Nasr (8-3) and fourth ranked Al Ittihad (8-2) was the most important one in the last round on Monday night. Al Nasr was crushed by Al Ittihad in Jeddah 82-62. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Al Nasr. They outrebounded Al Nasr 39-27 including a 30-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Ittihad shot the lights out from three sinking 13 long-distance shots on high 52.0 percentage. It was a great evening for American point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals. helped adding 14 points and 8 rebounds. Algerian Mohamed Harat (198-1990) responded with a double-double by scoring 21 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Al Ittihad have an impressive series of five victories in a row. Defending champion moved-up to third place. Al Nasr at the other side dropped to the fourth position with three games lost. Al Ittihad are looking forward to face Mudhar (#7) in the next round. Al Nasr will play against Al Fateh and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
SBL top team - Al-Ula (11-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed tenth ranked Ohod (1-10) in Medina 102-46. It was a quality performance for Lebanese guard Wael Arakji (193-1994) who led the winners with a triple-double by scoring 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Mohammed Alsuwailem accounted for 15 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists. American point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) came up with 13 points for Ohod in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. The victory was the eleventh consecutive win for Al-Ula. They maintain first place with 11-0 record. Ohod lost their seventh game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with ten games lost. Al-Ula will play against Al Khaleej (#8) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Ohod will play against Al Salam to get more than just one victory in their record.
The game in was also quite interesting. 6th ranked Mudhar (4-7) played at the court of eighth ranked Al Khaleej (2-9). Al Khaleej managed to secure a 4-point victory 66-62 on Monday. The best player for the winners was Kaleb Thornton who scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Vante Hendrix produced a double-double by scoring 14 points and 15 rebounds for the guests. Al Khaleej maintains eighth place with 2-9 record. Mudhar lost their third game in a row. Newly promoted team dropped to the seventh position with seven games lost. Al Khaleej will meet league's leader Al-Ula in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Mudhar will play against Al Ittihad (#3) and hope to secure a win.

In the last game of round 11 Al Fateh was destroyed by Al Ahli on the opponent's court 92-66.



Al Ahli - Al Fateh 92-66

Rather expected game in Jeddah where 5th ranked Al Fateh (5-6) was crushed by second ranked Al Ahli (9-1) 92-66 on Monday. Al Ahli dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Al Fateh's 34 and made 16-of-19 free shots (84.2 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Al Fateh 30-19 including 27 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was American center Justin Patton (216-1997, college: Creighton) who scored 26 points and 6 rebounds (on 10-of-11 shooting from the field). His fellow American import Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) chipped in 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Al Ahli players scored in double figures. Senegalese-Spanish power forward Mamadou Samb (210-1989) produced 22 points and 9 rebounds and Serbian center Lazar Nekic (213-1999, college: LMU) added 13 points respectively for the guests. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The victory was the third consecutive win for Al Ahli. They maintain second place with 9-1 record having just three points less than leader Al-Ula. Loser Al Fateh keeps the fifth position with six games lost. Al Ahli will meet Al Khewaildia (#9) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Al Fateh will play against Al Nasr (#4) in Riyadh and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Ahli: P.Justin 26+6reb+3ast, S.Tyler 20+5reb+4ast, A.Khalid 15+8reb+4ast, M.Alfonzo 13+3reb, A.Shubayli 8+5reb+1ast, A.Almuwallad 5+1ast
Al Fateh: M.Samb 22+9reb+2ast, A.Ali 13+2ast, L.Nekic 13+4reb+2ast, A.Muneer 8+2reb+1ast, A.Hazim 6+1reb, A.Hesham 4+1reb+3ast

Ohod - Al-Ula 46-102

SBL top team - Al-Ula (11-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed tenth ranked Ohod (1-10) in Medina 102-46. Al-Ula held Ohod to an opponent 23.2 percent shooting from the field compared to 51.2 percent accuracy of the winners. Al-Ula forced 22 Ohod turnovers and outrebounded them 48-29 including a 34-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al-Ula players were unselfish on offense dishing 30 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Ohod's players. It was a quality performance for Lebanese guard Wael Arakji (193-1994) who led the winners with a triple-double by scoring 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Mohammed Alsuwailem accounted for 15 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side. Five Al-Ula players scored in double figures. American point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) came up with 13 points and Ahmed Obaidi added 7 points and 8 rebounds respectively for Ohod in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. The victory was the eleventh consecutive win for Al-Ula. They maintain first place with 11-0 record. Ohod lost their seventh game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with ten games lost. Al-Ula will play against Al Khaleej (#8) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Ohod will play against Al Salam to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
Al-Ula: A.Almukhtar 17+6reb+6ast, A.Wael 16+11reb+10ast, G.Jonathan 15+3reb+3ast, M.Alsuwailem 15+16reb+4ast, M.Alsaqer 13+7reb+4ast, A.Aljezani 9+1reb
Ohod: A.Amjad 13+3reb+2ast, A.Bakr 10+2reb, F.Abdulrahman 8+3reb, O.Ahmed 7+8reb+2ast, A.Sultan 5+8reb+2ast, F.Mohammad 2+1reb

Al Khaleej - Mudhar 66-62

The game in was also quite interesting. 6th ranked Mudhar (4-7) played at the court of eighth ranked Al Khaleej (2-9). Al Khaleej managed to secure a 4-point victory 66-62 on Monday. The best player for the winners was American point guard Kaleb Thornton (183-1999, college: Akron) who scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Lino Manhom chipped in a double-double by scoring 10 points, 18 rebounds and 4 assists. American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: BIG) produced a double-double by scoring 14 points and 15 rebounds and Nigerian center Jason Jitoboh (211-2001, college: Tennessee St., agency: JCK Sports Group) added 12 points and 15 rebounds respectively for the guests. Al Khaleej maintains eighth place with 2-9 record. Mudhar lost their third game in a row. Newly promoted team dropped to the seventh position with seven games lost. Al Khaleej will meet league's leader Al-Ula in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Mudhar will play against Al Ittihad (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Al Khaleej: T.Kaleb 22+6reb+5ast, H.Ali 16+7reb+1ast, L.Manhom 10+18reb+4ast, I.Entaif 9+5reb+4ast, F.Ekhwan 5, M.Alzawad 2+1reb
Mudhar: V.Hendrix 14+15reb+3ast, A.Abdullah 14+5reb+1ast, J.Jitoboh 12+15reb+3ast, A.Mosa 8+7reb+5ast, A.Ali 8+2reb, A.Alhassan 3+3reb

Al Ittihad - Al Nasr 82-62

The game between third ranked Al Nasr (8-3) and fourth ranked Al Ittihad (8-2) was the most important one in the last round on Monday night. Al Nasr was crushed by Al Ittihad in Jeddah 82-62. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Al Nasr. They outrebounded Al Nasr 39-27 including a 30-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Ittihad shot the lights out from three sinking 13 long-distance shots on high 52.0 percentage. It was a great evening for American point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals. Mathna Almarwani helped adding 14 points and 8 rebounds. Neal is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Algerian Mohamed Harat (198-1990) responded with a double-double by scoring 21 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists and American guard Bailey Hardy (188-2000, college: LCU) scored 13 points and 5 steals. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Ittihad have an impressive series of five victories in a row. Defending champion moved-up to third place. Al Nasr at the other side dropped to the fourth position with three games lost. Al Ittihad are looking forward to face Mudhar (#7) in the next round. Al Nasr will play against Al Fateh and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Ittihad: N.Erick 19+7reb+11ast, E.Jarell 15+6reb, M.Almarwani 14+8reb+3ast, O.Albargawi 12+3reb+3ast, N.Alabsi 10+2reb, W.Michael 9+10reb
Al Nasr: M.Harat 21+14reb+4ast, B.Hardy 13+3reb+2ast, K.Musab 11+1reb, J.Nasser 10+6reb, M.Thamer 4+3reb+1ast, H.Raed 3+1ast