Round 1 of Finals. Kuwait and Al Riyadi post wins

gschID: 1170088

FINALS

Al-Manama - Kuwait 74-86

Kuwait made 19-of-25 free shots (76.0 percent) during the game. Worth to mention a great performance of Haitian center Cady Lalanne (208-1992, college: UMass) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds. U.S. Virgin Islands-American forward Marcus Georges-Hunt (196-1994, college: Georgia Tech) contributed with 20 points and 5 steals for the winners. Five Kuwait players scored in double figures. Kuwait's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American forward Devin Ebanks (206-1989, college: WVU) answered with 23 points and 5 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws) and the other American import swingman SirDominic Pointer (198-1992, college: St.John's) added 13 points and 5 assists in the effort for Al-Manama.
Top scorers:
Kuwait: M.Georges-Hunt 20+3reb+2ast, T.Carr 15+2reb+1ast, C.Lalanne 14+10reb+2ast, A.Turki 14+3reb+2ast, H.Hasan 10+5reb+3ast, M.Adnan 7+3reb+1ast
Al-Manama: D.Ebanks 23+5reb, S.Pointer 13+4reb+5ast, M.Hamoda 12+5reb, T.Thibodeaux 9+7reb+1ast, A.Haji 9+2reb+1ast, A.Kadhem 4+4reb

Al Riyadi - Gorgan 95-60

Al Riyadi made 19-of-22 free shots (86.4 percent) during the game, while Gorgan only scored three points from the stripe. Al Riyadi had a 38-18 advantage in offensive rebounds. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Guard Wael Arakji (193-1994) nailed 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for the winning side and Australian-South Sudanese center Thon Maker (216-1997) accounted for 20 points and 7 rebounds. Four Al Riyadi players scored in double figures. Center Salar Monji (203-1997, agency: BIG) came up with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds and point guard Sina Vahedi (185-2001, agency: Diamond Sports) added 15 points and 4 assists respectively for Gorgan in the defeat. 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.
Top scorers:
Al Riyadi: T.Maker 20+7reb, E.Kikanovic 16+8reb+1ast, J.Simmons 15+5reb+3ast, W.Arakji 14+6reb+7ast, A.Saoud 9+1reb+1ast, H.Gyokchyan 8+7reb+4ast
Gorgan: V.Sina 15+3reb+4ast, S.Monji 14+10reb+2ast, W.Cherry 12+5reb+2ast, A.Azari 7+2reb+1ast, N.Rezaeifar 4+2reb+2ast, A.Kazemi 4+8reb+4ast

3-4 Place

Kazma - Al-Muharraq 93-83

Kazma players were unselfish on offense dishing 28 assists. American swingman Travis Leslie (193-1990, college: Georgia) stepped up and scored 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and point guard Ahmad Albaloushi (182-1990) chipped in 14 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists. At the losing side American swingman Brandon Austin (198-1994, college: NW Florida St.) responded with a double-double by scoring 11 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists and Jamaican-American power forward Adrian Uter (201-1984, college: Hofstra) scored 19 points and 6 rebounds. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Al-Muharraq's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help.
Top scorers:
Kazma: T.Leslie 24+8reb+4ast, C.Chapman 22+9reb+3ast, A.Albaloushi 14+8reb+12ast, Y.Borhamah 13+6reb+6ast, E.Robinson 10+5reb, R.Abdulaziz 7+4reb+1ast
Al-Muharraq: A.Uter 19+6reb+1ast, H.Ali 15+3reb+2ast, T.Wilkerson 13+7reb, B.Malabes 12+3reb+4ast, B.Austin 11+7reb+10ast, A.Nader 8+2reb+1ast

Al Shurtah - Sagesse 66-116

Sagesse looked well-organized offensively handing out 31 assists. Aziz Abdel Massih (192-1996) nailed 16 points and 8 assists for the winning side and American point guard Jonathan Gibson (188-1987, college: NM State) accounted for 21 points. American guard Unique McLean (188-1997, college: SFC, agency: Blacktop Management) came up with 22 points and 4 assists and the other American import forward Delwan Graham (200-1988, college: Jacksonville, agency: Interperformances) added 15 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists respectively for Al Shurtah in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games.
Top scorers:
Sagesse: J.Gibson 21+4reb+3ast, B.Harfouch 20+3reb+4ast, A.Abdel Massih 16+4reb+8ast, A.Ibrahim 14+6reb+6ast, O.Jamaleddine 11+1reb+3ast, M.Khoueiry 9+1ast
Al Shurtah: U.McLean 22+4reb+4ast, D.Graham 15+9reb+6ast, M.Al-Khafaji 12+6reb+2ast, A.Ismael 10+12reb+7ast, O.Alazawi 3+4reb+1ast, A.Hussein 2+5reb