BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN made it three wins from as many games yesterday in the 44th William Jones Cup, currently being held in Chinese Taipei.
The kingdom’s senior men’s basketball national team defeated their counterparts from Malaysia 81-69 at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
The nationals used a scintillating second half, during which they led by as many as 19 points late on, to cruise to their big win and remain as one of only two teams who are still undefeated in the prestigious competition.
Yesterday’s result followed their 85-69 triumph over the Japanese national development team in their opening assignment and also their 71-63 victory against the hosts’ development squad.
The Bahrainis still have five highly competitive games remaining in this nine-team event. Aside from the development teams of Japan and Chinese Taipei and Malaysia’s national side, also taking part are the UAE and Chinese Taipei senior men’s squads, the Qatar B team, Australia United, and defending champions Strong Group Athletics from the Philippines.
The Bahrainis are back in action today against the Australians, who were not in action yesterday and have won two of their three outings thus far. Their contest is scheduled for an 8am tip-off, Bahrain time.
In their other remaining fixtures, they go up against Gulf rivals the UAE tomorrow, Qatar’s B team on Thursday, Chinese Taipei on Friday, and then Strong Group Athletics on Saturday.
Bahrain fell behind 1-7 at the start of yesterday’s affair but roared back with a 12-1 run and took a slim 15-13 lead at the end of the opening period.
The game remained close in the second and Bahrain were narrowly ahead 35-31, but their opponents scored the final seven points of the half for a 38-35 edge heading into the interval.
The nationals then took full control with a dominant third-quarter performance, outscoring their opponents by 15, 25-10. Back-to-back three-pointers from Mustafa Hussain gave them a 48-43 advantage, and then a triple by Ahmed Bindayneh made it 57-45.
The Bahrainis were in front 60-48 heading into the final frame, where Hussain continued his fine shooting display, making successive baskets from long range to give his team a 72-54 cushion.
Mohammed Ameer then built their biggest gap of the night at 81-62 with a lay-up and just over a minute remaining until the final buzzer.
Hussain and JaKarr Sampson combined for 45 of Bahrain’s output yesterday. Hussain was their top scorer with 23 points, which included five three-pointers, while Sampson added 22 to go with three steals. Subah Hussain chipped in with eight points, Bindayneh had seven markers along with three steals and two blocks, and Ameer finished with six points. Wayne Chism contributed four points and 11 rebounds for the Bahrainis.
Yi Hou Wong paced Malaysia with 27 points, while Chun Hong Ting scored 18 in the losing effort.
The William Jones Cup is one of the most highly reputed and popular international basketball tournaments in Asia. Bahrain are competing in the event for the second time in its history, following their debut over four decades ago in the 1978 edition.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))