SBL Round 13 (Regular Season): Derby game ends with Al Ahli's defeat of Al Ittihad

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Jeddah: Al Ahli (#2) and Al Ittihad (#3). Al Ittihad was defeated at home 73-86 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Al Ittihad. Al Ahli made 17-of-20 free shots (85.0 percent) during the game. American players dominated the game. Worth to mention a great performance of Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) who helped to win the game recording 28 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Center Justin Patton (216-1997, college: Creighton) contributed with 13 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) answered with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists for Al Ittihad. Al Ittihad's coach Slobodan Subotic rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Al Ahli (12-1) have an impressive series of six victories in a row. They maintain second place behind leader Al-Ula. Defending champion Al Ittihad dropped to the fourth position with three games lost. Al Ahli are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Ohod (#10) in Medina in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Al Ittihad will play against the league's leader Al-Ula (#1) and is hoping to prove to their supporters that the loss was just an accident.
SBL top team - Al-Ula (13-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed sixth ranked Al Fateh (5-8) in Al Hasa 99-56. American point guard Jonathan Gibson (188-1987, college: NM State) stepped up and scored 32 points and 7 assists (on 12-of-15 shooting from the field) for the winners and Thon Maker chipped in 24 points and 9 rebounds. At the losing side Senegalese-Spanish power forward Mamadou Samb (210-1989) responded with 19 points and 8 rebounds. 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 thirteenth consecutive win for Al-Ula. They maintain first place with 13-0 record. Al Fateh lost their third game in a row. They keep the sixth position with eight games lost. Al-Ula will play against Al Ittihad (#4) in Jeddah in the next round. Al Fateh will play against Mudhar and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game in supposed to be also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Al Nasr (10-3) played at the court of 7th ranked Mudhar (4-9). Al Nasr smashed Mudhar 112-87 on Friday. Mohamed Harat nailed a double-double by scoring 25 points, 22 rebounds and 9 assists for the winning side. Vante Hendrix came up with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists for Mudhar in the defeat. Al Nasr moved-up to third place. Mudhar lost their fifth game in a row. Newly promoted team keeps the seventh position with nine games lost. Al Nasr will meet at home Al Salam (#5) in the next round. Mudhar will play against Al Fateh and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 13 bottom-ranked Ohod was smashed by Al Khewaildia on the road 77-57. Al Khaleej was destroyed by Al Ahli on its own court 66-110.



Al Khewaildia - Ohod 77-57

The game between closely ranked teams ended with ninth ranked Al Khewaildia's (2-10) home victory over bottom-ranked Ohod (1-12) 77-57 on Friday. Ibrahima Sankare nailed a double-double by scoring 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists for the winning side and American forward Keondre Jackson (203, college: Clayton St.) accounted for 21 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists. American point guard Jonathan Gibson (188-1987, college: NM State) came up with 23 points and 9 rebounds and Australian-South Sudanese center Thon Maker (216-1997) added 16 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Ohod in the defeat. Ohod's coach tested eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Al Khewaildia moved-up to eighth place. Ohod lost their ninth game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with 12 games lost. Al Khewaildia will meet higher ranked Al Salam (#5) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Ohod will play against the league's second-placed Al Ahli (#2) having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
Ohod: A.Amjad 23+9reb+2ast, A.Mohammed 16+7reb+2ast, A.Yousef 6+2reb+2ast, F.Mohammad 4+2reb, A.Bakr 4+6reb, F.Abdulrahman 2+3ast
Al Khewaildia: I.Sankare 28+13reb+7ast, J.Keondre 21+15reb+4ast, A.Swaileh 11+1ast, K.Al-Amrad 8+1reb+3ast, A.Al-Aseel 7+5reb+3ast, M.Swaileh 2+4reb+1ast

Al Khaleej - Al Ahli 66-110

Very expected game when 9th ranked Al Khaleej (2-11) was smashed at home by second ranked Al Ahli (12-1) 110-66 on Friday. Al Ahli outrebounded Al Khaleej 47-30 including a 35-24 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Ahli looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 7 passes made by Al Khaleej's players. American players dominated also this game. Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) nailed 27 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side and center Justin Patton (216-1997, college: Creighton) accounted for 29 points and 9 rebounds. Five Al Ahli players scored in double figures. Al Ahli's coach Ali Alsanhani felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. point guard Kaleb Thornton (183-1999, college: Akron) came up with 23 points and 4 assists and forward Keondre Jackson (203, college: Clayton St.) added 18 points and 5 rebounds respectively for Al Khaleej in the defeat. The victory was the sixth consecutive win for Al Ahli. They maintain second place with 12-1 record behind leader Al-Ula. Al Khaleej at the other side keeps the ninth position with 11 games lost. Al Ahli will meet at home bottom-ranked Ohod (#10) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Al Khaleej will play against Al Khewaildia and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Khaleej: K.Thornton 23+4reb+4ast, A.Ali 18+5reb, A.Mahdi 8+2reb, M.Lino 8+12reb, E.Ibrahim 5+3reb+1ast, A.Almonthadhar 3+1reb+2ast
Al Ahli: P.Justin 29+9reb+2ast, S.Tyler 27+9reb+6ast, M.Alfonzo 16+7reb+1ast, F.Belal 12+5reb+8ast, A.Almuwallad 11+4reb+1ast, M.Khafaji 6+2reb

Mudhar - Al Nasr 87-112

The game in supposed to be also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Al Nasr (10-3) played at the court of 7th ranked Mudhar (4-9). Al Nasr smashed Mudhar 112-87 on Friday. Al Nasr dominated down low during the game scoring 68 of its points in the paint compared to Mudhar's 42. They outrebounded Mudhar 41-28 including 28 on the defensive glass. Al Nasr looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Algerian Mohamed Harat (198-1990) nailed a double-double by scoring 25 points, 22 rebounds and 9 assists for the winning side and American swingman Brandon Austin (198-1994, college: NW Florida St., agency: Olsta) accounted for 30 points and 5 assists. American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: BIG) came up with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists and Nigerian center Jason Jitoboh (211-2001, college: Tennessee St., agency: JCK Sports Group) added 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) respectively for Mudhar in the defeat. Four Al Nasr and five Mudhar players scored in double figures. Al Nasr moved-up to third place. Mudhar lost their fifth game in a row. Newly promoted team keeps the seventh position with nine games lost. Al Nasr will meet at home Al Salam (#5) in the next round. Mudhar will play against Al Fateh and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Mudhar: A.Abdullah 21+4reb+1ast, V.Hendrix 21+9reb+8ast, J.Jitoboh 21+9reb+5ast, A.Mosa 13+4reb+5ast, A.Alhassan 11+2reb+6ast, A.Mohammed 0+2ast
Al Nasr: A.Brandon 30+4reb+5ast, H.Mohamed 25+22reb+9ast, N.Jallas 20+6reb+4ast, M.Kadi 20+4reb+2ast, A.Abdulla 8+4reb, H.Bailey 4+1ast

Al Fateh - Al-Ula 56-99

SBL top team - Al-Ula (13-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed sixth ranked Al Fateh (5-8) in Al Hasa 99-56. Al-Ula dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to Al Fateh's 24. They outrebounded Al Fateh 42-25 including a 32-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al-Ula players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. American point guard Jonathan Gibson (188-1987, college: NM State) stepped up and scored 32 points and 7 assists (on 12-of-15 shooting from the field) for the winners and Australian-South Sudanese center Thon Maker (216-1997) chipped in 24 points and 9 rebounds. Four Al-Ula players scored in double figures. At the losing side Senegalese-Spanish power forward Mamadou Samb (210-1989) responded with 19 points and 8 rebounds and Serbian center Lazar Nekic (213-1999, college: LMU) scored 22 points and 7 rebounds. 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 thirteenth consecutive win for Al-Ula. They maintain first place with 13-0 record. Al Fateh lost their third game in a row. They keep the sixth position with eight games lost. Al-Ula will play against Al Ittihad (#4) in Jeddah in the next round. Al Fateh will play against Mudhar and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Fateh: L.Nekic 22+7reb, M.Samb 19+8reb+2ast, A.Hesham 6+2reb+8ast, A.Thamer 3+2reb+1ast, A.Abdullah 2+1reb, A.Abdullah 2+1reb
Al-Ula: G.Jonathan 32+1reb+7ast, M.Thon 24+9reb+2ast, M.Saleh 11+4reb+1ast, M.Alsuwailem 11+8reb+3ast, A.Alalawi 8+5reb+3ast, A.Aljezani 7+1reb+3ast

Al Ittihad - Al Ahli 73-86

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Jeddah: Al Ahli (#2) and Al Ittihad (#3). Al Ittihad was defeated at home 73-86 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Al Ittihad. Al Ahli made 17-of-20 free shots (85.0 percent) during the game. American players dominated the game. Worth to mention a great performance of Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) who helped to win the game recording 28 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Center Justin Patton (216-1997, college: Creighton) contributed with 13 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Four Al Ahli players scored in double figures. point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) answered with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists and forward Michael Watkins (206-1995, college: Penn State) added 11 points and 11 rebounds in the effort for Al Ittihad. Al Ittihad's coach Slobodan Subotic rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Al Ahli (12-1) have an impressive series of six victories in a row. They maintain second place behind leader Al-Ula. Defending champion Al Ittihad dropped to the fourth position with three games lost. Al Ahli are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Ohod (#10) in Medina in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Al Ittihad will play against the league's leader Al-Ula (#1) and is hoping to prove to their supporters that the loss was just an accident.
Top scorers:
Al Ittihad: E.Neal 29+5reb+8ast, A.Mathna 15+3reb, M.Watkins 11+11reb, J.Eddie 8+2reb, A.Nasser 6+3reb, K.Mohammed 2+3reb
Al Ahli: S.Tyler 28+9reb+4ast, P.Justin 13+7reb+2ast, F.Belal 12+2reb+3ast, A.Shubayli 10+5reb+1ast, M.Alfonzo 8+4reb, A.Almuwallad 8+6reb