Manama continued their unbeaten run in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League outplaying Sitra 96-63 in an eighth week game at the Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam yesterday.
They got off to a brisk start taking the opening quarter 25-18 and, after a keenly-fought second quarter (20-20), staying ahead by seven points at half-time.
Manama stepped up dominance after the interval as they took the third quarter 28-15 and breezed through the final session (23-10) to claim their fifth straight victory of the season.
Lebanese professional Karim Ezzeddine was Manama’s top scorer with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Ahmed Salman scored 15 points, including four three-pointers, and Hasan Nowrooz chipped in with 13 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Diallo Aboubaker led the scoring for Sitra with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
Manama are currently eighth in the standings with 10 points from five games while Sitra are right below with 10 points from eight games.
Ruthless
Later in the evening, C J Giles top scored with 33 points as Al Najma sealed their fifth win of the season easing past Bahrain Club 109-80.
Najma were ruthless from the start as they took the first quarter 23-14 and were particularly severe on their opponents in the second (34-13). Najma’s 30-point lead at half time was too formidable for Bahrain Club to overcome.
Giles paced Najma with 22 rebounds and two assists. He was backed by Ali Jaffar, who scored 19 points.
Bahrain Club’s leading scorers were Jalal Akbar, with 28 points, and Baqer Isa, with 23.
Najma surged to the third position after yesterday’s victory with 12 points from seven games while Bahrain Club, who have claimed just one victory so far this season, are placed just above bottom placed Isa Town with nine points from eight games.
The eighth week has concluded with yesterday’s games and the next encounters will begin on Friday when title holders Al Ahli face Isa Town and Muharraq take on Al Najma at the Zain Arena.