MUHARRAQ face off with Riffa tonight for the right to lift the 2019 Zain Super Cup.
The one-off game is the traditional season-opener to the new national basketball season. It pits the league champions of the previous campaign against the winners of the prestigious Khalifa bin Salman Cup.
Muharraq emerged as league champions last year while Riffa clinched the cup.
Both teams are once again expected to make serious bids for the season’s titles, beginning with the Super Cup.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 7pm. It will be played at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.
Muharraq head into the contest with a reinforced line-up. They have added a pair of top Bahraini players to their roster, including Mohammed Buallay, who last season played a number of games with Riffa whom he helped steer to the Khalifa bin Salman Cup.
This time, however, he is with Muharraq and he is one of the top pick-ups of the off-season in Bahrain basketball.
Also joining the defending league champions is guard Sayed Mohammed Hameed from Al Ettihad. Hameed is a talented playmaker who beefs up an already formidable backcourt that includes the dynamic duo of Ahmed Hasan Alderazi and Bader Abdulla Malabes, as well as super substitutes Ali Abbas and Sayed Kadhem Majed.
Muharraq will also be relying on the likes of veterans Ali Shukrallah and Mohammed Hasan Alderazi, as well as six-foot, 11-inch American professional Will Artino.
They are coached by newly signed Dean Murray from the US, who also has replaced Serbian Ivan Jeremic.
Meanwhile, Riffa will be looking towards the leadership of superstar forward Mohammed Kuwayed. He will be aided by the likes of brother Younes Kuwayed, Subah Hussain and the rest of the team’s supporting cast.
Riffa’s roster will be boosted by six-foot, nine-inch American import Rickey Young. They are coached by Serbia Dejan Tomic, who guided Al Ettihad Club over the last two seasons.
He has replaced American tactician Sam Vincent on the Riffa bench.
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