BAHRAIN bowed to Egypt 54-80 last night in their second game in the inaugural Bahrain International Basketball Championship, being played at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.
The Bahrainis put in a valiant effort in the loss but ultimately were overmatched against their bigger and more organised rivals.
Egypt were in control the entire game and their lead ballooned to the 26-point difference at the final whistle.
Bahrain’s sharp-shooting two-guard Hesham Sarhan led the nationals with 16 points. Backcourt mate Ahmed Abdulaziz chipped in with 11 as Bahrain’s only two players in double-figures.
After winning their first game against Iraq on Thursday night, the Bahrainis will be looking to end their tournament campaign with a win tomorrow when they face Lebanon at 11pm at the same venue.
The Lebanese were dominant 80-57 winners against the Iraqis in yesterday’s other game at Zain arena. Egypt and Iraq battle in the other fixture tomorrow. Today is a rest day in the competition.
This four-nation championship is taking place under the directives of Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, whose aim is to raise the level of the national team by playing high-ranking squads from across the globe.
The Bahrainis are also using this event as part of their preparations for their upcoming games in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers, to be held next month in Dubai.
In Bahrain’s game against Egypt, the home side headed into the affair as underdogs, being ranked 107th in the world with their rivals ranked 50th. The Bahrainis started well but Egypt gradually found their groove, and by the end of the first quarter were ahead 19-12.
The Egyptians stretched their lead in the second as they built their advantage to 35-16 with a Rami Mohammed jump shot. But Bahrain scored five straight points through a Mohammed Hussain triple and a slam dunk by Mohammed Nasser to cut the deficit to 21-35.
The Bahrainis had no answer in the opening two quarters for seven-foot, two-inch Egyptian centre Omar Oraby already had 16 points and 11 rebounds by the interval.
In the third period, Egypt were still firmly in command but a mini-run by Bahrain, capped by a Nasser drive to the basket, made it 39-50. The victors later headed into the final canto with a 52-40 lead and never allowed the Bahrainis to get back to within single digits. Instead, they blew the game wide open by outscoring their opponents 28-14 in the period.
Oraby finished as the top scorer in the win. He had a monster double-double of 22 points and 17 rebounds and was a perfect nine-for-nine from the field. Yousif Wael contributed 13, while Rami Mohammed had 11 including three three-pointers and six assists. Haitham Kamal also had a fine effort of 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Yesterday’s other game between Lebanon and Iraq started as a tightly contested affair until the second half.
The Iraqis had a slim 23-22 lead at the end of the first period, but the Lebanese went ahead by the break, 37-34. A big third quarter where they outscored Iraq 21-10 put them firmly in control, and then in the fourth they enjoyed leads as big as 28 points en route to the final buzzer.
Amir Saoud scored 20 points to lead Lebanon in the win, while Ali Moayyed had 13 to pace Iraq in the loss.