MANAMA and Al Ahli were both victorious last night as the eighth week of action got underway in the 2018/2019 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Manama enjoyed a lopsided 103-66 victory over Bahrain’s under-19 men’s national team, while Ahli posted a resounding 88-72 win over Isa Town.
Both games were played at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.
Manama were literally men against boys in their game.
The defending national champions came out of the gate on fire and took a 32-11 lead after the first period. In the second, they extended their advantage to a commanding 56-26 mark. They didn’t let up in the third quarter and had a massive 85-49 lead, and the final period was a mere formality for both sides.
Sadeq Shukrallah led a balancd attack for Manama with 17 points. He also had 12 rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Mohammed Ameer added 14 points, while three others had 13 including Ahmed Abdulaziz, Maytham Jameel and Ali Shakeeb. Hussain Shaker contributed 11 as their sixth player in double figures. Shaker also had seven assists.
Basel Adel top scored for the under-19 nationals with 25 points. He also had 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Ahli used a strong second quarter to turn away an early deficit and take control of their contest with Isa Town.
The title hopefuls were down 16-17 at the end of the first quarter, but a 29-point period that ensued put them ahead 45-34 at the half and they never looked back.
Ahli maintained their fine form in the third and were up 69-57 heading into the fourth quarter. They did just enough in the last canto to close out the hard-earned win.
American professional Marcel Jones led Ahli with a whopping 36-point, 18-rebound effort that also saw him dish out six assists. Jones buried four three-pointers in the game.
Hot
Skipper Hesham Sarhan was also red hot from the field, scoring 28 point while also registering three steals. Sayed Hashim Habib and Jassim Abul chipped in with nine points apiece.
For Isa Town, Ahmed Salman was the top man with 31 points including seven assists. Salman also buried four triples in their game. Farazdaq Bardastani added 10 points as their team’s only other scorer in double digits.
League action continues tomorrow night at the same venue with two games on the cards. Riffa take on Bahrain club in the early game at 5.45pm, to be followed at 7.45pm by Nuwaidrat facing off with Al Ettihad.