BASKETBALL – AL Hala came up big down the stretch – and overcame a sensational 52-point effort from Austin Ajukwa – to eke out a tough 107-102 victory over Sitra last night in game one of their best-of-three relegation play-off for a spot in next season’s premier division in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Hala trailed heading into the final frame, where the two teams were engaged in a see-saw battle that saw them exchange leads multiple times. But they finally broke through with just over a minute remaining when Shaheed Davis scored on a driving lay-up that made it 101-99, giving the victors the lead for good. His go-ahead basket sparked a 6-0 rally that helped Hala virtually put the game away.
Sitra fought until the very end, however, and got to within three points with 14 seconds to go following an Ali Mohsen three-pointer.
Alwatheq Ali then buried both his charity shots in the dying seconds to peg the final score and give Hala the one-game advantage in their head-to-head.
With the result, Hala will be looking to close out the series when they face off with Sitra once again in game two on Monday. Sitra, on the other hand, will be hoping to extend the battle and force a decisive third game, which will be held, if needed, the very next night on Tuesday.
Both teams are aiming to join Muharraq, Manama, Al Ahli, Al Najma, and this season’s division two champions Al Ettihad in the kingdom’s top-tier basketball tournament for 2026-27.
Ettihad are replacing Nuwaidrat, who have been relegated to the second division.
In Hala’s triumph last night, they trailed for much of the first half. Sitra took a slim 30-27 advantage after the first quarter and stayed three points ahead, 59-56, at the break.
Hala stayed within striking distance throughout the third period and led by five on an Ali Baqer basket. But Sitra struck back and edged ahead 78-77 with only the last canto to play.
That set the stage for the tight finish, where Hala did enough to secure the all-important win.
Davis finished as Hala’s leading scorer with 32 points while he also took down 12 rebounds and had four blocked shots. Ahmed Bindayneh added 21 in the win while Baqer scored 17, Ali 14, and Abdulqader Thani had 12.
Ajukwa fired in seven three-pointers in the contest and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Mohsen contributed 29 in the loss while Mahdi Abdulameed added 10.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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