SBL Round 10 (Regular Season): Leader Al Ittihad gets another victory

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Undefeated leader Al Ittihad delivered the tenth consecutive win on Friday night. This time they crushed 9th ranked Al Khaleej (2-8) 101-63 in Jeddah. Al Ittihad forced 19 Al Khaleej turnovers. They shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 51.7 percentage. Al Ittihad looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists comparing to just 7 passes made by Al Khaleej's players. American point guard Keron DeShields (190-1992, college: Tennessee St., agency: Diamond Sports) fired 21 points and 7 assists for the winners. The former international Mathna Almarwani (186-1992) chipped in 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. American swingman Qyidar Davis (198-1993, college: Indiana St.) produced 24 points and 9 rebounds (made all of his ten free throws !!!) for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Undefeated Al Ittihad (10-0) have an impressive ten-game winning streak. They maintain first position with a perfect record of 10 victories in a row. Al Khaleej lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team dropped to the eighth place with eight games lost. They share the position with Ohod. Al Ittihad are looking forward to face Al Salam (#6) in Al-Awamiyah in the next round where they are favorite. Al Khaleej will play against Al-Ula and is hoping to prove to their fans that they can break losing series.
Bottom-ranked Al Khewaildia (0-10) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 84-77 loss to fourth ranked Al Nasr (8-2) in . Worth to mention a great performance of American guard Donte McGill (190-1995, college: FIU) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 34 points (!!!) and 17 rebounds. Erik McCree contributed with 24 points and 14 rebounds for the winners. Manaf Alsalem replied with 17 points and 8 assists for Al Khewaildia. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Al Nasr moved-up to third place, which they share with Al-Ula. Newly promoted Al Khewaildia still closes the standings with ten games lost. Al Nasr will play against Al Fateh (#5) in Al Hasa in the next round. Al Khewaildia will play at home against the league's second-placed Al Ahli (#2) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
The game in Al Hasa supposed to be also quite interesting. Third ranked Al-Ula (8-2) played at the court of 5th ranked Al Fateh (4-6). Al-Ula smashed Al Fateh 102-76 on Friday. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Al Fateh. Mohammed Alsuwailem had a double-double by scoring 18 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners. At the losing side Shadell Millinghaus responded with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Al-Ula have a solid four-game winning streak. Newly promoted Al-Ula maintains third position with 8-2 record having just two points less than leader Al Ittihad, which they share with Al Nasr. Al Fateh at the other side keeps the fifth place with six games lost. They share the position with Al Salam. Al-Ula will meet at home Al Khaleej (#9) in the next round where they are favorite. Al Fateh will play against Al Nasr (#4) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 10 Al Safa was crushed by Al Ahli in Jeddah 99-79. Al Salam smashed Ohod at home 91-70.
The best stats of 10th round was 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 assists by Ashford Golden of Al Salam.



Al Ahli - Al Safa 99-79

There was no surprise in Jeddah where 6th ranked Al Safa (3-7) was crushed by second ranked Al Ahli (9-1) 99-79 on Friday. Al Ahli looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Al Safa's players. American forward Devin Ebanks (206-1989, college: WVU) had a triple-double by scoring 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the charge for the winners and the other American import forward Perry Jones III (211-1991, college: Baylor, agency: Slash Sports) chipped in 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Al Ahli's coach Ali Alsanhani used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. At the losing side South Sudanese guard Dhieu Abwok (196-2001, college: UTSA) responded with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists (made all of his ten free throws !!!) and American forward Cedrick Alley Jr (198, college: UTSA) scored 10 points and 9 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Ahli maintains second position with 9-1 record behind leader Al Ittihad. Newly promoted Al Safa dropped to the seventh place with seven games lost. Al Ahli will meet bottom-ranked Al Khewaildia (#10) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Al Safa will play against Ohod in Medina and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Ahli: P.Jones III 25+9reb+4ast, A.Shubayli 22+5reb+2ast, D.Ebanks 20+12reb+11ast, K.Abdel-Gabar 13+5reb+5ast, T.Mohammed 6+2reb, A.Mahfuth 5+2reb
Al Safa: D.Abwok 30+8reb+5ast, R.Alahmed 12+2reb, L.Robertin 12+3reb+1ast, C.Alley Jr. 10+9reb+1ast, R.Almuaini 5, A.Qashqri 4+1reb+1ast

Al Khewaildia - Al Nasr 77-84

Bottom-ranked Al Khewaildia (0-10) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 84-77 loss to fourth ranked Al Nasr (8-2) in . They dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Al Khewaildia's 30. They outrebounded Al Khewaildia 54-28 including a 21-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. Al Khewaildia was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. Worth to mention a great performance of American guard Donte McGill (190-1995, college: FIU) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 34 points (!!!) and 17 rebounds. The other American import Erik McCree (202-1993, college: La Tech) contributed with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 14 rebounds for the winners. McGill is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Four Al Nasr players scored in double figures. Manaf Alsalem replied with 17 points and 8 assists and American forward Zo Tyson (206-1995, college: IUPUI) added 14 points and 12 rebounds in the effort for Al Khewaildia. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Al Nasr moved-up to third place, which they share with Al-Ula. Newly promoted Al Khewaildia still closes the standings with ten games lost. Al Nasr will play against Al Fateh (#5) in Al Hasa in the next round. Al Khewaildia will play at home against the league's second-placed Al Ahli (#2) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Al Nasr: D.McGill 34+17reb, E.McCree 24+14reb+2ast, N.Abo Jallas 12+9reb+1ast, A.Alhawsawi 10+4reb, F.Aldawsari 3+1ast, B.Alsulimani 1
Al Khewaildia: J.Jones 17+7reb+2ast, M.Alsalem 17+4reb+8ast, Z.Tyson 14+12reb+1ast, I.Alahmed 8+1ast, K.Al-Ahmed 8, C.Berry 7+4reb

Al Fateh - Al-Ula 76-102

The game in Al Hasa supposed to be also quite interesting. Third ranked Al-Ula (8-2) played at the court of 5th ranked Al Fateh (4-6). Al-Ula smashed Al Fateh 102-76 on Friday. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Al Fateh. Al-Ula had a 35-17 advantage in offensive rebounds. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The former international center Mohammed Alsuwailem (211-1998) had a double-double by scoring 18 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners and American-Austrian swingman Sylven Landesberg (198-1990, college: Virginia) chipped in 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists during the contest. Five Al-Ula players scored in double figures. At the losing side American guard Shadell Millinghaus (188-1994, college: Georgetown, KY) responded with 18 points and 9 rebounds and Saad Al-Subaiei scored 15 points and 6 rebounds. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Al-Ula have a solid four-game winning streak. Newly promoted Al-Ula maintains third position with 8-2 record having just two points less than leader Al Ittihad, which they share with Al Nasr. Al Fateh at the other side keeps the fifth place with six games lost. They share the position with Al Salam. Al-Ula will meet at home Al Khaleej (#9) in the next round where they are favorite. Al Fateh will play against Al Nasr (#4) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al-Ula: A.Alalawi 18+2reb+3ast, M.Alsuwailem 18+15reb+4ast, S.Landesberg 18+6reb+5ast, J.Gibson 15+8reb+5ast, T.Wimbush 11+2reb+2ast, A.Almukhtar 10+4reb+4ast
Al Fateh: S.Millinghaus 18+9reb+2ast, S.Al-Subaiei 15+6reb+2ast, N.Stover 14+3reb+1ast, J.MBida 9+6reb+3ast, H.Al-Mohammed 8+4reb, T.Almuhanna 8+1ast

Al Ittihad - Al Khaleej 101-63

Undefeated leader Al Ittihad delivered the tenth consecutive win on Friday night. This time they crushed 9th ranked Al Khaleej (2-8) 101-63 in Jeddah. Al Ittihad forced 19 Al Khaleej turnovers. They shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 51.7 percentage. Al Ittihad looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists comparing to just 7 passes made by Al Khaleej's players. American point guard Keron DeShields (190-1992, college: Tennessee St., agency: Diamond Sports) fired 21 points and 7 assists for the winners. The former international Mathna Almarwani (186-1992) chipped in 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. American swingman Qyidar Davis (198-1993, college: Indiana St.) produced 24 points and 9 rebounds (made all of his ten free throws !!!) and Canadian forward Richard Amardi (206-1990, college: Oregon, agency: BIG) added 16 points and 6 rebounds respectively for lost side. 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 Ittihad (10-0) have an impressive ten-game winning streak. They maintain first position with a perfect record of 10 victories in a row. Al Khaleej lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team dropped to the eighth place with eight games lost. They share the position with Ohod. Al Ittihad are looking forward to face Al Salam (#6) in Al-Awamiyah in the next round where they are favorite. Al Khaleej will play against Al-Ula and is hoping to prove to their fans that they can break losing series.
Top scorers:
Al Ittihad: K.DeShields 21+3reb+7ast, S.Braimoh 14+4reb+1ast, M.AlMarwani 12+4reb, A.Fallatah 9+1reb+1ast, M.Almarwani 9+6reb+4ast, M.Maker 8+7reb+1ast
Al Khaleej: Q.Davis 24+9reb+2ast, R.Amardi 16+6reb+1ast, I.Entaif 9+4reb+1ast, A.Al-Darweesh 6+3reb+1ast, K.Al-Darweesh 4+1reb, H.Ali 2

Al Salam - Ohod 91-70

The game between closely ranked teams ended with seventh ranked Al Salam's (4-6) home victory over 8th ranked Ohod (2-8) 91-70 on Friday. Al Salam outrebounded Ohod 46-29 including a 33-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. American guard Ashford Golden (195-1995, college: MACU) scored 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Senegalese-Spanish power forward Mamadou Samb (210-1989) chipped in 25 points and 23 rebounds during the contest. Golden is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top summer league for players who want to play basketball overseas. Al Salam's coach Aqeel Milad felt very confident that he used 10 players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. At the losing side American guard Kenny Hayes (189-1987, college: Miami, OH) responded with 20 points and 5 rebounds and his fellow American import center Fuquan Niles (211-1995, college: CWU, agency: Interperformances) scored 7 points and 7 rebounds. Al Salam moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Al Fateh. Loser Ohod keeps the eighth position with eight games lost. They share it with Al Khaleej. Al Salam will meet at home league's leader Al Ittihad in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Ohod will play against Al Safa (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Salam: A.Golden 39+8reb+5ast, M.Samb 25+23reb+2ast, H.Aldarwish 9+4reb, M.Iqbal 6+2reb, M.Swaileh 5+1ast, H.Binmohammed 5+1reb+4ast
Ohod: K.Hayes 20+5reb+2ast, A.Mitrovic 10+2reb, O.Alzahrani 10+2reb+1ast, A.Fallatah 8+2reb+3ast, A.Obaidi 7+2reb, F.Niles 7+7reb+1ast