CHAMPIONS Manama edged past Riffa 90-85 last night to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three Golden Square semi-finals series in the 2018/2019 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Manama ended the game with a decisive 10-3 run, during which they powered ahead for good and did just enough to secure the victory.
Riffa still managed to get to within two points during that spurt, and later had a chance to tie the game with just seconds remaining. But they could not capitalise on their opportunities and Manama were able to ice the result from the free-throw line.
Game two is scheduled for Monday next week, also at the Khalifa Sports City arena in Isa Town. Manama will be looking to make a series sweep while Riffa will be hoping to stay alive and force a winner-take-all third game.
The other Golden Square semi-final series sees Muharraq holding a 1-0 lead over Al Ahli. Their second game will also be on Monday.
Last night’s match was a tightly contested affair from the very beginning and neither team managed to lead by double-digits.
Manama were narrowly ahead 20-19 at the end of the first quarter, and then they extended their advantage to 39-35 at the half.
Riffa then enjoyed a strong third quarter, pouring in 30 points in the period and powering ahead to a 65-61 lead with only the final canto to play.
It was a see-saw fourth period. Manama regained the advantage at 75-74 on a three-pointer by American professional Wayne Chism. Things were then tied at 80-all after Chism’s teammate and countryman DJ Stephens made two three-throws, but then Riffa’s Mohammed Buallay answered with a pair of his own charity shots to make it 82-80.
That set the stage for Manama’s end-game rally. Stephens sparked their surge with a three-pointer that gave them back the lead, and then baskets from Hussain Shaker and Chism put Manama ahead 87-82 with about a minute-and-a-half remaining.
Riffa’s Subah Hussain was then able to bury a corner three-pointer to get his team back to within two, and then Maytham Jameel split his free-throws to put Manama up 88-85 with just 16 seconds to go.
After a Riffa timeout, they were looking for a tying basket and Buallay was able to get a decent look. He misfired, however, and Manama secured the rebound. Jameel was then fouled once more, pegging the final score from the stripe.
Five Manama players finished in double-figures, with Stephens leading the way with 26 including four triples. Jameel added 16 off the bench, while Shaker and Chism had 14 apiece and Mohammed Ameer scored 12.
Riffa’s American duo of Shawne Williams and Arinze Onuakuboth had 18 points. Star forward Mohammed Kuwayed was held to just 13 while Ali Jassim had 11.