CHAMPIONS Manama used a stifling 17-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to help claim a hard-earned 84-75 victory over Muharraq last night in a titanic Round of Six match-up in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Manama’s young talents Sadeq Shukrallah, Mohammed Ameer and Mustafa Hussain sparked their rally, scoring 13 points between them in that span to completely change the complexion of the game.
Manama eventually outscored their opponents 31-14 in the final canto, sending out a stern warning to all their title rivals this 2018/2019 season.
With the result, Manama claimed their third win in four games so far in the Round of Six, while Muharraq suffered their second loss to go along with two wins.
Manama’s American professional Wayne Chism also played a key role in their win. He had a monster effort of 28 points, including four three-pointers, 13 rebounds and three steals.
Skipper Ahmed Abdulaziz, who scored the other four points in their decisive 17-0 rally, added 15 and five assists while Ameer finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds
For Muharraq, US import CJ Giles had 21 points and 18 rebounds. Ahmed Hassan Aldurazi had 16 with four triples, Mohammed Juma’a added 14, and Bader Abdulla Malabes scored 12 with three baskets from beyond the arc.
Manama scored the first seven points in the game but Muharraq were quick to reply and they ended the first quarter with a narrow 20-18 advantage. In the second period, Giles swished in an off-balance two-point jump shot just before the half-time buzzer to make it 44-34.
Manama fought back to start the third quarter and scored nine unanswered points to get back to within one, 43-44, but Muharraq responded well with their own 15-0 run, capped by a pair of Aldurazi three-pointers, which gave them their biggest lead of 16, 59-43.
Manama were able to cut the deficit to 53-61 at the end of the third, setting the stage for their dramatic fourth-quarter spurt.
A three by Malabes ended their Manama’s run, but the damage was done and Manama led by as many as 10 points the rest of the way.
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