Wayne Chism scored 27 points as champions Manama outclassed Riffa 82-69 last night to send out a stern warning to those aiming to dethrone them in the 2018/2019 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
The victors quickly shrugged off some early rust, captured the lead and never looked back as they claimed a well-deserved result in their opening game of the league’s Round of Six.
Manama joined Al Ahli and Al Najma as winners in their first games of this stage.
The Round of Six features a single round-robin, after which the top two teams go directly into the Golden Square semi-finals. The third-placed team then takes on the sixth-placed squad, while the fourth-ranked club battle their fifth-ranked counterparts in a pair of best-of-three series. The winners of each move on to the Golden Square.
Manama faced a 2-5 deficit in the game’s first couple of minutes but eventually found their groove and took a 13-7 lead. They enjoyed a 26-20 advantage at the end of the first quarter, which they extended to 46-36 at the half.
Manama stepped it up in the third and powered ahead for a 70-51 cushion heading into the final canto. They cruised in the fourth but were still able to come away with a 13-point win.
American professional Chism had a monster 20-20 game of 27 points and 25 rebounds to spearhead Manama. Guard Ahmed Abdulaziz added 22 including five three-pointers, while backcourt mate Hussain Shaker added 16.
Haminn Quaintance from the US paced Riffa with just 14points, while Abdulrahman Ghali and Subah Hussain each had 10 in the loss.
In yesterday’s other game in the Silver League comprising this season’s bottom six clubs, Samaheej eked out a narrow 78-76 win over an import-less Al Hala.
Mohammed Busafwan made the go-ahead three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to give Samaheej a 77-76 lead. He then made a steal on Hala’s Hussain Salman, and American-Bahamian professional Mark St Fort made one of two free-throws with a second on the game clock to peg the final score.
St Fort had 28 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks to lead Samaheej. Busafwan and Mujtaba Ismaeel added 20 apiece along with seven three-pointers between them, while former national team forward Isa Ebrahim contributed one point and 15 rebounds in the win.
Salman paced Hala with 24 points and six assists, but he also had seven turnovers.