Round 7 of Regular Season

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

West Asia Super League round 7 caused change at the leadership position. First defeat of league's leader UAE Shabab Al Ahli (4-1) against sixth ranked Kuwaiti Kazma (2-3) 98-86 was the most important game of the last round. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Shabab Al Ahli. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Kazma made 7 blocks. Worth to mention a great performance of Tunisian center Salah Mejri (217-1986) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 19 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks. American guard Shane Rector (188-1994, college: Utah St.) contributed with 29 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. American Nick Minnerath (207-1988, college: Detroit) answered with 26 points and 6 rebounds for Shabab Al Ahli. Kazma moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Al Naft. Defending UAE champion Shabab Al Ahli dropped to the second position with one game lost. They were joined at the leadership position by Beirut Club who have the same record. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Bottom-ranked Omani Al Bashaer is still unable to win any game. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fifth consecutive match to third ranked Saudi Arabian Al Hilal (4-1) 103-48. It was a great evening for center Mohammed Alsuwailem (211-1998) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 12 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists (perfect from the field making all six shots). Khalid Abdel-Gabar helped adding 10 points and 11 rebounds. At the losing side American guard Aaron Parks (190-1994, college: CSUN) responded with 23 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. Defending Saudi Arabian champion moved-up to second place, which they share with Shabab Al Ahli. Defending Omani champion Al Bashaer still closes the standings with five games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
The game in Beirut was also quite interesting. 4th placed Iraqi Al Naft (2-3) played at the court of sixth ranked Lebanese Al Riyadi (3-2). Al Riyadi managed to secure a 9-point victory 107-98 on Thursday. It was an exceptional evening for Wael Arakji who led the winners and scored 25 points. Edgar Sosa came up with 46 points (!!!) and 7 assists (made all of his twelve free throws !!!) for Al Naft in the defeat. Al Riyadi moved-up to fourth place. Defending Iraqi champion Al Naft dropped to the fifth position with three games lost. They share it with Kazma. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.

Group Gulf League

Al Bashaer - Al Hilal 48-103

Bottom-ranked Omani Al Bashaer is still unable to win any game. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fifth consecutive match to third ranked Saudi Arabian Al Hilal (4-1) 103-48. Al Hilal dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Al Bashaer's 36. Al Hilal forced 19 Al Bashaer turnovers and outrebounded them 46-28 including a 33-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists comparing to just 8 passes made by Al Bashaer's players. It was a great evening for center Mohammed Alsuwailem (211-1998) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 12 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists (perfect from the field making all six shots). Canadian-Saudi Arabian guard Khalid Abdel-Gabar (188-1990, college: Windsor) helped adding 10 points and 11 rebounds. Five Al Hilal players scored in double figures. At the losing side American guard Aaron Parks (190-1994, college: CSUN) responded with 23 points and 7 rebounds and guard Said Al-Saadi (191-1994) scored 5 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. Defending Saudi Arabian champion moved-up to second place, which they share with Shabab Al Ahli. Defending Omani champion Al Bashaer still closes the standings with five games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Al Hilal: C.Chapman 18+4reb, N.Alabsi 16+1reb+5ast, T.Shine 15+2reb+2ast, A.Mohammed 12+17reb+6ast, K.Abdel-Gabar 10+11reb+3ast, M.Al Otaibi 9+2reb
Al Bashaer: A.Parks 23+7reb+2ast, B.Bakhit Hadid 6+2reb+4ast, S.Al-Saadi 5+7reb+1ast, A.Abdul 4+2reb, A.Qasim 3, M.Al-Souli 3+4reb+1ast

Kazma - Shabab Al Ahli 98-86

West Asia Super League round 7 caused change at the leadership position. First defeat of league's leader UAE Shabab Al Ahli (4-1) against sixth ranked Kuwaiti Kazma (2-3) 98-86 was the most important game of the last round. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Shabab Al Ahli. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Kazma made 7 blocks. Worth to mention a great performance of Tunisian center Salah Mejri (217-1986) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 19 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks. American guard Shane Rector (188-1994, college: Utah St.) contributed with 29 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Four Kazma players scored in double figures. American Nick Minnerath (207-1988, college: Detroit) answered with 26 points and 6 rebounds and the other American import guard Brandon Triche (193-1991, college: Syracuse) added 18 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Shabab Al Ahli. Kazma moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Al Naft. Defending UAE champion Shabab Al Ahli dropped to the second position with one game lost. They were joined at the leadership position by Beirut Club who have the same record. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Kazma: S.Rector 29+7reb, S.Mejri 19+17reb+1ast, A.Alhamidi 14+1reb+2ast, R.Abdulaziz 11+2ast, A.Ahmad 10+2reb+5ast, L.Williams 6+8reb+1ast
Shabab Al Ahli: N.Minnerath 26+6reb, B.Triche 18+7reb+3ast, Q.Alshabebi 16+7reb+2ast, A.Hamid 9+6reb+4ast, M.Milosevic 5+7reb+1ast, T.Alnuaimi 5+2reb+1ast

Group West Asia

Al Riyadi - Al Naft 107-98

The game in Beirut was also quite interesting. 4th placed Iraqi Al Naft (2-3) played at the court of sixth ranked Lebanese Al Riyadi (3-2). Al Riyadi managed to secure a 9-point victory 107-98 on Thursday. Al Riyadi made 18-of-22 free shots (81.8 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Al Riyadi made 7 blocks. It was an exceptional evening for guard Wael Arakji (194-1994) who led the winners and scored 25 points. American Dominique Johnson (192-1987, college: Azusa Pacific) accounted for 21 points for the winning side. American-Dominican forward Edgar Sosa (190-1988, college: Louisville) came up with 46 points (!!!) and 7 assists (made all of his twelve free throws !!!) and American forward Antwaine Wiggins (203-1988, college: Charleston) added 24 points and 9 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws) respectively for Al Naft in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Riyadi moved-up to fourth place. Defending Iraqi champion Al Naft dropped to the fifth position with three games lost. They share it with Kazma. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Al Riyadi: W.Arakji 25+4reb+2ast, D.Johnson 21+2reb+2ast, A.Saoud 16+4reb+4ast, I.Moneim 10+7reb+5ast, H.Gyokchyan 9+4reb+7ast, K.Zeinoun 9+2reb
Al Naft: E.Sosa 46+2reb+7ast, A.Wiggins 24+9reb+1ast, A.Jasim 12+1reb, N.Mohammed 11+11reb+3ast, A.Al-Draisawi 3+7reb+6ast, S.Al-Saedi 2



Tags : SALAH MEJRI, KAZMA, WEST ASIA SUPER LEAGUEN BASKETBALL