BASKETBALL – DEFENDING champions Muharraq powered past bitter rivals Manama 79-66 last night as gameweek nine got underway in the 2025-26 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Muharraq used a scintillating third quarter – where they held Manama to just seven points while outscoring them by 16 – to take control of the high-profile contest, played at Zain Basketball Arena at Um Al Hassam Sports Complex. They then enjoyed leads as big as 15 points late in the final frame en route to securing their big win.
With the result, Muharraq stayed undefeated after eight games in this season’s top-tier premier division. They handed Manama their third loss to go with five wins as the two sides remained as the leading teams on the league standings.
Gameweek nine continues today and tomorrow at the same venue. This evening, Al Ettihad face off with Bahrain Club at 6pm in a League B clash, while Nuwaidrat face Al Najma at 8pm in a premier division fixture.
In the lone game tomorrow, Al Ahli and Al Hala lock horns in an exciting premier league battle, scheduled for an 8pm tip-off.
In Muharraq’s triumph last night, Manama were the early aggressors as they took a slim 21-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. Manama stayed ahead throughout the second and enjoyed a 42-34 advantage at the interval.
But Muharraq came out of the gate strong in the second half, using a scintillating 19-2 run to stun their rivals while taking control for good. A Mahmood Abbas Isa three-pointer sparked the game-changing surge, during which they scored 15 unanswered points to begin the period. Manama only got their first basket of the quarter with five-and-a-half minutes to play on a Mohammed Buallay lay-up.
Muharraq eventually took a 57-49 cushion into the fourth, and they continued to build on their advantage en route to the final buzzer. Two Ali Hussain free-throws with half-a-minute remaining put them up by 15 for their largest lead of the night, and then Manama’s Ahmed Salman scored on a lay-up to peg the final score.
Kerwin Roach top scored for Muharraq with 20 points off the bench, while Mohammed Ameer added 18, Isa contributed 13, and Hussain had 12. Wayne Chism was also a force for his team, taking down a monster 17 rebounds although scored only four points.
Buallay paced Manama in the losing effort with 12 markers, while Ali Jaber had 11 and Subah Hussain, Hasan Nowrooz, and Donovan Carlisle each finished with 10 points, with Carlisle also registering 17 boards.
Meanwhile, in yesterday’s other contest, Samaheej routed Isa Town 91-64 in League B.
Samaheej led by as many as 30 points in the game as they claimed their fifth win in seven outings while handing Isa Town their seventh straight loss and having yet to taste victory.
Salman Alkaabi spearheaded Samaheej with 32 points and 13 rebounds while Joe Mvuezolo added 26 and 10. Hussain Mahdi was Isa Town’s top scorer with 17 while Jehad Ahmed contributed 14.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))