BASKETBALL – Muharraq powered to a resounding 86-68 victory over bitter rivals and three-time defending champions Manama last night to secure the number one seed heading into the Golden Square semi-finals of the 2024-25 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Muharraq shrugged off a horrendous start – in which they scored just three points in the game’s first six-and-a-half minutes – and used a strong second-quarter showing to take control of the game, played at Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town. The victors outscored their rivals by 15, 29-14, to head into the half with a double-digit cushion and never looked back from there.
They led by as many as 19 points the rest of the way, en route to closing out the all-important win.
Five players finished in double figures for Muharraq. Myron Gordon, Mohammed Ameer, and Ali Hussain spearheaded their balanced attack with 15 points apiece, while Tony Mitchell added 12 and Mohammed Nasser finished with 11 in the win.
Chad Brown top scored for Manama with 18 points and 17 rebounds and Mohammed Kowayed had 12 in the losing effort.
With the result, Muharraq finished atop the Premier League standings with the best win-loss record of 13-2, while Manama followed with a 12-3 mark.
Muharraq now go into the Golden Square as the favourites and will next take on fourth-ranked Al Najma, who beat Al Ahli 92-84 in a no-bearing affair yesterday at the same venue.
Manama will lock horns with Ahli in a mouth-watering battle between two of the kingdom’s most-storied basketball clubs. The Golden Square schedule has yet to be released by the Bahrain Basketball Association.
In Najma’s victory over Ahli, both teams had already secured their seeds heading into the semis.
Ahli led for most of the night and went up by 18 late in the second period, but a 33-15 third quarter from Najma helped them turn a 32-39 deficit at the break to a commanding 65-54 lead heading into the final frame. They rode their momentum to the final buzzer and closed the preliminary stage with a 7-8 record.
Alfonzo McKinnie scored a game-high 34 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Najma, while Shamorie Ponds added 28. Dominique Sutton had 28 to pace Ahli in defeat. Hesham Sarhan added 15 and Maitham Jameel had 13 as Ahli dropped to an 8-7 mark but stayed ahead of Najma.
Also last night, at Zain Basketball Arena in Umm Al Hassam, fifth-placed Al Hala edged past sixth-ranked Al Ettihad 86-84 in their concluding Premier League fixture, which was another non-bearing affair.
Both teams were already out of contention for the Golden Square and had locked in their final rankings.
Hussain Salman buried a pair of game-clinching free-throws with 0.3 seconds remaining to lift Hala to the win. Sayed Mohammed Hameed had earlier split his charity shots to tie the game at 84-apiece, but then Salman was fouled as he grabbed the rebound and looked to push for a game winner.
Ettihad head coach Hani Alam was then called for a technical foul and it resulted in his ejection along with three shots from the stripe for Salman, who made the first two.
Ahmed Bin Daineh finished as Hala’s leading scorer with 20 points, while Hussain Jan and Alwatheq Ali contributed 15 apiece, with Ali also taking down 14 boards. Hameed and Nasser Almosawi scored 24 each for Ettihad in the loss.
Hala wrapped up the preliminaries with a 5-10 win-loss record. They will now take on League B runners-up Samaheej in a best-of-three clash for the right to claim one last remaining spot in the 2025-26 Premier League. Ettihad suffered their 15th straight loss to finish their league campaign winless. They have been relegated to League B for 2025-26 and will be replaced in the Premier League by League B champions Nuwaidrat.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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