SBL Round 15 (Regular Season): Al Ittihad edges Al Fateh by two points

The Regular Season in SBL is slowly approaching the end. But there may be still some important changes in the final standings in the last 3 rounds. Coincidentally all hosts won their games. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Sixth-ranked Al Fateh (6-9) made lots of trouble for fourth ranked Al Ittihad (10-4) in Jeddah on Friday. Al Ittihad managed to secure only two-point victory 90-88. However their fans expected easier game. Al Ittihad forced 20 Al Fateh turnovers. Strangely Al Fateh outrebounded Al Ittihad 48-32 including a 21-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was American point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) who had a double-double by scoring 28 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. The former international Mathna Almarwani (186-1992) chipped in 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Al Ittihad's coach Slobodan Subotic used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was Serbian center Lazar Nekic (213-1999, college: LMU) who recorded a double-double by scoring 27 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists. Defending champion maintains fourth place with 10-4 record. Al Fateh at the other side keeps the sixth position with nine games lost. Al Ittihad are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Ohod (#10) in Medina in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Al Fateh will play against Al Khewaildia (#8) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Jeddah. Second ranked Al Ahli faced 3rd placed Al Nasr. Host Al Ahli (14-1) smashed guests from Riyadh (11-4) 93-74. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Al Nasr. It was a good game for American Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 11 rebounds. Khalid Abdel-Gabar contributed with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists for the winners. American power forward Chris Johnson (210-1985, college: LSU) answered with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds for Al Nasr. Al Nasr's coach Fadi Sobhi rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Al Ahli have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain second place with 14-1 record behind leader Al-Ula. Al Nasr at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. Al Ahli will play against league's leader Al-Ula in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Al Nasr will play against Al Khaleej and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Undefeated leader Al-Ula delivered the fifteenth consecutive victory on Friday night. This time they crushed 8th ranked Al Khewaildia (3-12) 109-65. It was a great evening for Mohammed Saleh who led his team to a victory scoring 26 points and 8 rebounds. The best for the losing side was Ibrahima Sankare with a double-double by scoring 31 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists. 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 fifteenth consecutive win for Al-Ula. They maintain first place with 15-0 record. Loser Al Khewaildia keeps the eighth position with 12 games lost. Al-Ula will meet league's second-placed Al Ahli in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Al Khewaildia will play against Al Fateh (#6) in Al Hasa and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 15 bottom-ranked Ohod was crushed by Mudhar in a road game 99-76. Al Salam beat Al Khaleej at home 77-68.
The best stats of 15th round was 36 points (!!!) by Alex Young of Al Salam.



Al Ahli - Al Nasr 93-74

An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Jeddah. Second ranked Al Ahli faced 3rd placed Al Nasr. Host Al Ahli (14-1) smashed guests from Riyadh (11-4) 93-74. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Al Nasr. Al Ahli had a 39-27 advantage in offensive rebounds. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 27 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Al Nasr's players. It was a good game for American Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 11 rebounds. The former international guard Khalid Abdel-Gabar (188-1990, college: Windsor) contributed with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists for the winners. American power forward Chris Johnson (210-1985, college: LSU) answered with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds and the former international forward Musab Kadi (196-1999) added 16 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Al Nasr. Five Al Ahli and four Al Nasr players scored in double figures. Al Nasr's coach Fadi Sobhi rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Al Ahli have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain second place with 14-1 record behind leader Al-Ula. Al Nasr at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. Al Ahli will play against league's leader Al-Ula in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Al Nasr will play against Al Khaleej and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Al Ahli: S.Tyler 24+11reb+2ast, A.Khalid 17+6reb+11ast, F.Belal 15+4reb+2ast, P.Justin 14+9reb+5ast, M.Almuwallad 13+3reb+3ast, A.Almuwallad 6+4reb+2ast
Al Nasr: C.Johnson 21+10reb+1ast, K.Musab 16+7reb, B.Hardy 11+3reb+5ast, J.Nasser 11+10reb, M.Thamer 6+3reb, A.Mubarki 4

Al-Ula - Al Khewaildia 109-65

Undefeated leader Al-Ula delivered the fifteenth consecutive victory on Friday night. This time they crushed 8th ranked Al Khewaildia (3-12) 109-65. Al-Ula outrebounded Al Khewaildia 46-29 including a 36-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al-Ula looked well-organized offensively handing out 33 assists comparing to just 14 passes made by Al Khewaildia's players. It was a great evening for international Mohammed Saleh (184-1999) who led his team to a victory scoring 26 points and 8 rebounds. American point guard Jonathan Gibson (188-1987, college: NM State) helped adding 22 points and 7 assists. Five Al-Ula players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was Senegalese forward Ibrahima Sankare (203-1996, college: Lyn) with a double-double by scoring 31 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists and American forward Keondre Jackson (203, college: Clayton St.) scored 11 points and 5 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 fifteenth consecutive win for Al-Ula. They maintain first place with 15-0 record. Loser Al Khewaildia keeps the eighth position with 12 games lost. Al-Ula will meet league's second-placed Al Ahli in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Al Khewaildia will play against Al Fateh (#6) in Al Hasa and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al-Ula: M.Saleh 26+8reb+2ast, G.Jonathan 22+2reb+7ast, M.Alsaqer 15+2reb+5ast, M.Alsuwailem 14+10reb+5ast, M.Thon 10+12reb+3ast, A.Wael 9+4reb+2ast
Al Khewaildia: S.Ibrahima 31+16reb+4ast, K.Jackson 11+5reb+3ast, A.Abass 9, A.Abass 6+5reb+3ast, S.Ahmed 6+2reb+1ast, A.Hayder 2+1ast

Mudhar - Ohod 99-76

There was no surprise when 10th ranked Ohod (1-14) was crushed on the road by seventh ranked Mudhar (5-10) 99-76 on Friday. Mudhar dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Ohod's 36. Mudhar looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Mudhar made 12 blocks. It was a great evening for American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: BIG) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 39 points (!!!), 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Nigerian center Jason Jitoboh (211-2001, college: Tennessee St., agency: JCK Sports Group) helped adding 24 points, 15 rebounds and 9 blocks. The best for the losing side was Mohammed Alhawsawi with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and Osama Alzahrani scored 17 points and 5 rebounds. Ohod's coach gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Newly promoted Mudhar maintains seventh place with 5-10 record. Ohod lost their eleventh game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with 14 games lost. Mudhar will meet at home higher ranked Al Salam (#5) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Ohod will play against Al Ittihad (#4) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Mudhar: H.Vante 39+11reb+7ast, J.Jason 24+15reb+3ast, A.Al-Janaby 16+7reb+4ast, M.Al-Ghezwi 8+10reb+4ast, A.Al-Johar 6+4reb, M.Al-Malallah 6+2reb+7ast
Ohod: A.Mohammed 22+10reb+5ast, A.Osama 17+5reb+1ast, A.Bakr 12+3reb+1ast, O.Ahmed 7+11reb+1ast, A.Majed 7+5reb+1ast, A.Yazan 5+1reb

Al Ittihad - Al Fateh 90-88

Sixth-ranked Al Fateh (6-9) made lots of trouble for fourth ranked Al Ittihad (10-4) in Jeddah on Friday. Al Ittihad managed to secure only two-point victory 90-88. However their fans expected easier game. Al Ittihad forced 20 Al Fateh turnovers. Strangely Al Fateh outrebounded Al Ittihad 48-32 including a 21-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was American point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) who had a double-double by scoring 28 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. The former international Mathna Almarwani (186-1992) chipped in 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Neal is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Al Ittihad's coach Slobodan Subotic used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was Serbian center Lazar Nekic (213-1999, college: LMU) who recorded a double-double by scoring 27 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists and Senegalese-Spanish power forward Mamadou Samb (210-1989) added 18 points and 9 rebounds respectively. Four Al Fateh players scored in double figures. Defending champion maintains fourth place with 10-4 record. Al Fateh at the other side keeps the sixth position with nine games lost. Al Ittihad are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Ohod (#10) in Medina in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Al Fateh will play against Al Khewaildia (#8) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Ittihad: N.Erick 28+6reb+10ast, M.Almarwani 16+8reb+4ast, T.Elijah 14+6reb, E.Jarell 8+1reb, O.Albargawi 7+2reb+1ast, A.Fallatah 6+4reb+1ast
Al Fateh: L.Nekic 27+17reb+4ast, A.Hesham 20+5reb+2ast, M.Samb 18+9reb+3ast, A.Ali 12+9reb+3ast, A.Abdullah 8+7reb+6ast, A.Mohamad 3+1reb

Al Salam - Al Khaleej 77-68

No shocking result in a game in Al-Awamiyah where fifth ranked Al Salam (7-7) defeated 9th ranked Al Khaleej (2-13) 77-68 on Friday. It was a great evening for American forward Alex Young (198-1989, college: IUPUI) who led his team to a victory scoring 36 points (!!!). His fellow American import forward Stephen Hurt (211-1993, college: Kansas St., agency: Diamond Sports) helped adding 16 points and 13 rebounds. The best for the losing side was American point guard Kaleb Thornton (183-1999, college: Akron) with 30 points and 7 rebounds and Australian forward Lino Manhom (213-1998, college: UTPB) produced a double-double by scoring 11 points and 12 rebounds. Al Salam maintains fifth place with 7-7 record. Al Khaleej lost their fourth game in a row. They keep the ninth position with 13 games lost. Al Salam will meet Mudhar (#7) in the next round. Al Khaleej will play against Al Nasr in Riyadh and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Al Salam: Y.Alex 36+4reb+3ast, H.Stephen 16+13reb, H.Al-Darwish 7+4reb+2ast, N.Maodo 6+3reb, R.Al-matroud 5+4reb, A.Al-Qassab 3+1reb+2ast
Al Khaleej: K.Thornton 30+7reb+2ast, A.Mahdi 12+2reb+1ast, M.Lino 11+12reb+2ast, A.Ali 7+2reb+1ast, A.Almonthadhar 4+5reb+2ast, E.Fawaz 2+1ast