SBL Round 18 (Regular Season): Al-Ula celebrate the title

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Jeddah: Al Ittihad (#3) and Al Ahli (#2). Al Ahli was defeated at home 76-81 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the ten-game winning streak of Al Ahli. Strangely Al Ahli outrebounded Al Ittihad 46-26 including a 33-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. 24 personal fouls committed by Al Ahli helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The game was dominated by American players. The best player for the winners was point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) who scored 25 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Forward Elijah Thomas (210-1996, college: Clemson) chipped in 21 points and 5 rebounds. 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 Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) who recorded a double-double by scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds. Al Ittihad (14-4) have an impressive five-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains third position having just three points less than leader Al-Ula. Al Ahli at the other side keeps the second place with two games lost.
Leader Al-Ula delivered the seventeenth victory. This time they crushed 7th ranked Mudhar (6-12) 123-77. It was a good game for American point guard Jonathan Gibson (188-1987, college: NM State) who led his team to a victory with 37 points (!!!) and 5 rebounds. Thon Maker contributed with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field) for the winners. Al-Ula's coach Izzat Ismail felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: BIG) replied with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for Mudhar. Al-Ula maintains first position with 17-1 record. Newly promoted Mudhar keeps the seventh place with 12 games lost.
The game in supposed to be also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Al Nasr (13-5) played at the court of 8th ranked Al Khewaildia (3-15). Al Nasr smashed Al Khewaildia 110-71 on Friday. Bailey Hardy scored 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to lead the charge for the winners. The best for the losing side was Ibrahima Sankare with a double-double by scoring 29 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists (on 11-of-13 shooting from the field). The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Al Nasr maintains fourth position with 13-5 record. Al Khewaildia lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with 15 games lost. They share the position with Al Khaleej.

In the last two games of round 18 Al Khaleej crushed Ohod in a road game 86-57. Al Salam beat Al Fateh at home 92-84.
The best stats of 18th round was 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 4 assists by Alex Young of Al Salam.



Ohod - Al Khaleej 57-86

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 10th ranked Ohod's (1-17) home loss to ninth ranked Al Khaleej (3-15) 57-86 on Friday. Al Khaleej dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Ohod's 34. They outrebounded Ohod 63-45 including 20 on the offensive glass. Australian forward Lino Manhom (213-1998, college: UTPB) had a double-double by scoring 40 points (!!!) and 32 rebounds (on 18-of-23 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners and American point guard Kaleb Thornton (183-1999, college: Akron) chipped in 14 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists during the contest. The best for the losing side was Majed Alshanqiti with a double-double by scoring 16 points and 17 rebounds and Osama Alzahrani produced a double-double by scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds. Four Ohod players scored in double figures. Al Khaleej moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Al Khewaildia. Ohod lost fourteenth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 17 lost games.
Top scorers:
Al Khaleej: L.Manhom 40+32reb, H.Alabbas 14+8reb+1ast, T.Kaleb 14+13reb+8ast, A.Alshake 7+1reb+3ast, A.Alzurayqi 7+1reb+3ast, A.Al-Darweesh 2+2reb+1ast
Ohod: A.Majed 16+17reb+3ast, A.Osama 15+10reb+1ast, A.Sultan 14+7reb, F.Hashim 12+7reb, F.Abdulrahman 0, A.Yazan 0+4reb+1ast

Al Khewaildia - Al Nasr 71-110

The game in supposed to be also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Al Nasr (13-5) played at the court of 8th ranked Al Khewaildia (3-15). Al Nasr smashed Al Khewaildia 110-71 on Friday. Al Nasr dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Al Khewaildia's 36. They outrebounded Al Khewaildia 49-32 including 34 on the defensive glass. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Al Nasr made 8 blocks. American guard Bailey Hardy (188-2000, college: LCU) scored 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to lead the charge for the winners and the other American import power forward Chris Johnson (210-1985, college: LSU, agency: Elevate Sports Alliance) chipped in 19 points and 9 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) during the contest. Five Al Nasr 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 29 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists (on 11-of-13 shooting from the field) and American forward Keondre Jackson (203, college: Clayton St.) scored 23 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. Al Nasr maintains fourth position with 13-5 record. Al Khewaildia lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with 15 games lost. They share the position with Al Khaleej.
Top scorers:
Al Nasr: H.Bailey 21+8reb+4ast, A.Brandon 20+8reb, J.Chris 19+9reb+3ast, M.Kadi 13+6reb+1ast, B.Alsulimani 12+3reb+2ast, N.Jallas 10+6reb
Al Khewaildia: S.Ibrahima 29+12reb+5ast, K.Jackson 23+8reb+3ast, S.Ahmed 6+1reb+4ast, A.Abass 3+2reb, S.Mohammed 3+1reb+2ast, A.Mahdi 3+1reb+1ast

Al Ahli - Al Ittihad 76-81

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Jeddah: Al Ittihad (#3) and Al Ahli (#2). Al Ahli was defeated at home 76-81 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the ten-game winning streak of Al Ahli. Strangely Al Ahli outrebounded Al Ittihad 46-26 including a 33-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. 24 personal fouls committed by Al Ahli helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The game was dominated by American players. The best player for the winners was point guard Erick Neal (178-1995, college: UT Arlington) who scored 25 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Forward Elijah Thomas (210-1996, college: Clemson) chipped in 21 points and 5 rebounds. 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 Tyler Stone (203-1991, college: SEMO, agency: Octagon Europe) who recorded a double-double by scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds and center Justin Patton (216-1997, college: Creighton) added 8 points and 14 rebounds respectively. Al Ittihad (14-4) have an impressive five-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains third position having just three points less than leader Al-Ula. Al Ahli at the other side keeps the second place with two games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Ittihad: N.Erick 25+6reb+8ast, T.Elijah 21+5reb+3ast, M.Almarwani 12+3reb+2ast, O.Albargawi 6+6reb, A.Ashoor 4+1ast, N.Alabsi 3
Al Ahli: T.Stone 25+12reb+1ast, A.Marzouq 12+4reb+3ast, J.Patton 8+14reb+2ast, B.Fahad 7+1reb, S.Ali 7+5reb, K.Abdel-Gabar 6+6reb+4ast

Al-Ula - Mudhar 123-77

Leader Al-Ula delivered the seventeenth victory. This time they crushed 7th ranked Mudhar (6-12) 123-77. Al-Ula dominated down low during the game scoring 68 of its points in the paint compared to Mudhar's 46. They outrebounded Mudhar 41-28 including 31 on the defensive glass. Al-Ula players were unselfish on offense dishing 26 assists. It was a good game for American point guard Jonathan Gibson (188-1987, college: NM State) who led his team to a victory with 37 points (!!!) and 5 rebounds. Australian-South Sudanese center Thon Maker (216-1997) contributed with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field) for the winners. Al-Ula's coach Izzat Ismail felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: BIG) replied with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists and Nigerian center Jason Jitoboh (211-2001, college: Tennessee St., agency: JCK Sports Group) added 21 points and 6 rebounds in the effort for Mudhar. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al-Ula maintains first position with 17-1 record. Newly promoted Mudhar keeps the seventh place with 12 games lost.
Top scorers:
Al-Ula: G.Jonathan 37+5reb+3ast, M.Thon 25+6reb+7ast, M.Alsuwailem 16+8reb+2ast, M.Al-khater 12+4reb, A.Wael 10, M.Alsaqer 8+8reb+8ast
Mudhar: J.Jitoboh 21+6reb+1ast, V.Hendrix 19+10reb+4ast, A.Abdullah 15+3reb+1ast, A.Mosa 10+5reb+3ast, A.Alhassan 7+3reb+5ast, A.Mohammed 5+1reb+1ast

Al Salam - Al Fateh 92-84

Everything could happen in Al-Awamiyah at the game between two tied teams. Both fifth ranked Al Salam and 6th ranked Al Fateh had identical 8-9 record. This time Al Salam used a home court advantage and defeated the opponent from Al Hasa 92-84 on Friday night. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Al Salam made 9 blocks. American forward Alex Young (198-1989, college: IUPUI) scored 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Almohammed Hani chipped in 19 points and 11 rebounds during the contest. The best for the losing side was Senegalese-Spanish power forward Mamadou Samb (210-1989) with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 18 rebounds and Serbian center Lazar Nekic (213-1999, college: LMU) produced a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds. Five Al Fateh players scored in double figures. Al Salam maintains fifth position with 9-9 record. Loser Al Fateh keeps the sixth place with ten games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Salam: Y.Alex 39+8reb+4ast, A.Hani 19+11reb+3ast, M.Iqbal 15+3reb+3ast, H.Al-Darwish 9+3reb+2ast, H.Stephen 6+7reb+3ast, N.Maodo 4+5reb+2ast
Al Fateh: M.Samb 22+18reb+1ast, L.Nekic 20+11reb+1ast, A.Rayan 15+3reb+3ast, A.Hesham 14+6reb+9ast, A.Ali 12+3reb+6ast, A.Muneer 1+2reb+1ast