BASKETBALL – Bahrain's Al Hala nearly completed a sensational comeback but eventually suffered their second successive narrow defeat yesterday in the 26th Arab Women’s Clubs Championship, currently being played in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
After opening the tournament with a disheartening 74-76 loss against Association du Groupement Sportif Cosider from Algeria on Wednesday, Hala were determined to bounce back against Sharjah from the UAE yesterday.
But they fell behind by as many as 18 points in the second half before roaring back brilliantly to take the lead late in the game – only to go down 87-88 at the final buzzer.
The Bahrainis conceded yet another game-winning shot to their opponents in the dying seconds – and this time it was Sharjah’s Brazilian-Lebanese import Rebecca Akl who had a lay-up for the clincher with only 0.6 seconds left on the game clock.
Following a time-out by head coach Jop Nelson Tandawadon, Hala had one last chance to steal away the win, but a quick-fire three-point attempt by American professional Alexa Nicole Hart came off the glass and bounced off the rim.
In Hala’s previous outing, Cosider’s Badia Kelal hit the go-ahead three-pointer with just 20.7s to play to help their side register their triumph.
With their second setback yesterday, Hala must now win their remaining four games to have any chance of making it to the tournament’s final.
They are the lone Bahraini side taking part, while others in the fray are Al Qurain and Al Fatat SC from Kuwait, Fuheis SC from Jordan, and Al Ula representing hosts Saudi.
Hala return to the hardwood today when they take on Al Ula at 7pm. Tomorrow is then a rest day for all the teams. Action resumes on Sunday when Hala face Al Fatat at 5pm.
They then take on Fuheis on Monday, also at 5pm, before having back-to-back off-days on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
Hala play their final preliminary round assignment on Thursday next week against Al Qurain, scheduled for a 3pm tip-off. All times are Bahrain.
Based on the results from the championship’s first stage, the top two clubs on the standings will battle for the gold medals on the tournament’s final day on Friday next week.
The third and fourth-ranked sides will lock horns for the bronze medals.
In Hala’s loss yesterday, they held a narrow 21-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Sharjah took full control of the contest in the second, which they finished strong for a 43-34 advantage at the interval.
The Emiratis then blew the game wide open in the third quarter and they took a commanding 69-51 cushion into the final frame.
Hala’s Bayan Salman then swished in a three-pointer at the beginning of the fourth to spark a resounding 12-0 run that got the Bahrainis back in the fight.
Two free-throws from Senegalese professional Yacine Diop got them to within 78-81, and then Diop buried a game-tying triple with a minute and 27 seconds to go.
After free-throw splits from Sharjah’s Senegalese pro Sene Madjiguene and Hala’s Salman, US import Jade Loville hit a jumper to give Sharjah a slim 84-82 edge, but Salman answered with a cold-blooded three-pointer that gave Hala the stunning one-point lead and just 40.3 seconds on the clock.
The lead exchanged hands twice more after Akl sank two charity shots before Hart scored in the paint with 6.9s left.
That set the stage for Akl’s game-clinching lay-in that broke Hala’s hearts.
Diop finished as Hala’s leading scorer with 32 points before fouling out late in the game.
She almost finished with a triple-double as she also took down 13 rebounds and dished out eight assists.
Aya Kamali added 23 points including a whopping seven triples, while Salman contributed 22 and had five makes from beyond the arc.
Akl finished with a game-high 39 to pace Sharjah in their big win. Madjiguene added 25 points and had 11 boards.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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