BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN outclassed Australia United 106-91 yesterday to maintain their winning ways in the 44th William Jones Cup, currently being held in Chinese Taipei.
The Bahrainis raced out to a hot start and led by as many as 27 points early in the fourth quarter. They then staved off a furious late surge from their opponents to pull off their fourth straight victory at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
The nationals continued to top the nine-team tournament standings and are one of just two squads who remained undefeated so far. Defending champions Strong Group Athletics from the Philippines are the other.
Bahrain are coached by Greek tactician Georgios Vovoras, who is in his first competition in charge of the nationals.
Following yesterday’s triumph, the Bahrainis head into their final four games of the prestigious event. They take on a winless UAE national team today at 8am, Bahrain time. They then face Qatar’s B team tomorrow, Chinese Taipei’s national team on Friday, and then Strong Group Athletics on Saturday in their concluding fixture of the competition.
In their win yesterday, the Bahrainis were firing on all cylinders in a scintillating first quarter. An Ali Jaber three-pointer followed by a JaKarr Sampson jumper gave them a double-digit lead at 17-7, and star guard Mustafa Hussain later banked in a basket to make it 28-13. Sampson was on target once again from the field to give Bahrain a 32-17 cushion at the end of the period.
They continued to pile it on in the second, when a Wayne Chism shot and a Mohammed Ameer lay-up put them ahead 38-17. A Sampson triple with a minute to go in the half helped the nationals take a 56-42 advantage into the break. After the re-start, an Abdulqader Thani three-pointer pushed the Bahrainis forward 70-47, and an acrobatic lay-up from Hussain made it 74-50. They took a commanding 83-63 lead into the final canto. There, Subah Hussain scored five straight points to give the nationals their biggest lead of the night at 95-68, and then an Ameer triple made it 98-79.
The Australians put in one last fight in the closing minutes, getting back to within 88-98 to make the Bahrainis sweat. But timely Ameer baskets helped the victors preserve the gap en route to the final 15-point winning margin.
Sampson spearheaded Bahrain’s balanced attack as five of their players finished in double figures. He had 21 points while Ameer chipped in with 18. Mustafa Hussain added 16 while dishing out an impressive 10 assists, while Jaber and Chism contributed 11 points apiece, with Chism also taking down 10 rebounds.
Dhieu Magier was the leading scorer for Australia United with 15 points.
In other results yesterday, Malaysia edged past the UAE 88-87, Strong Group Athletics beat Qatar’s B team 81-54, and Chinese Taipei’s senior men outplayed their development squad 92-80.
This year’s William Jones Cup is scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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