IN a stunning turn of events, national champions Manama upset the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 96-91 last night to become the first Bahraini club to ever defeat a visiting professional team from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the history of the Bahrain-Philippines Goodwill Basketball Games.
Youngster Mozamel Ameer came up big in the clutch, burying four pressure-packed free-throws to help his team come away with the shock result.
Manama had earlier faced a 70-77 deficit heading into the final quarter, but an impressive outside-shooting performance helped them stay in the game, and a Hussain Shaker three-pointer tied the proceedings at 91-all.
That paved the way for Ameer’s first two charity shots with 44.3 seconds to play.
Manama also had a questionable non-call on what appeared to be a goal-tend by Ahmed Najaf on a Jewel Ponferada basket.
Not even Rain or Shine’s superstar talents James Yap or Beau Belga could save them in the end with key baskets.
American import Wayne Chism led Manama’s scorers with 18 points against his former team. Shaker and captain Mohammed Hussain added 17 apiece, while Ameer contributed 11.
Guard Ed Daquioag had 21 points to lead the Elasto Painters. Mark Borboran had 12 and John Maiquez 11. Belga and Yap scored seven apiece.
The Elasto Painters will be looking to bounce back today when they play perennial title contenders Muharraq Club.
Their game is scheduled for a 7.30pm tip. There are also preliminary games as well, starting from 4pm.
In yesterday’s preliminary lone contest, The Hooperz Team enjoyed a dominant 96-44 victory over Sany basketball team.
Hussain Ali had a game-high 28 points for Hooperz. Hamad Ali added 24 and Ebrahim Khabaaz netted 22. The Hooperz were red hot from beyond the three-point line.
Lord Rodriguez paced Sany with 11 points.
Tickets are available at the venue today. General admission tickets cost BD3. For limited VIP tickets, call 34414926 or 33934798.
The ninth Bahrain-Philippines Goodwill Basketball Games 2019 has been organised by The Hooperz Sport Events in cooperation with members of the Filipino community, the BBA and Nestlé Bahrain Trading. The event is being held under the patronage of BBA President Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
The Goodwill Games is powered by Houras Services and Consultants, Amour de Paris Perfumes, Filinvest, UAE Exchange, Forex Cargo and Zain Bahrain. It is supported by FCBG, Strictly Social.BH, BonChon, David’s Stir Fry Crazy, Jollibee, Bahay Kubo, Filipino-American Association, The K Hotel, Arwa, Trans World Travel, Print Mania, Bahrain International Karting Circuit and Track Top Adventure.