BASKETBALL – MANAMA drew level with Al Najma while defending champions Muharraq took a commanding two-game lead against Al Ahli in their respective Golden Square semi-final series last night in the 2025-26 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Manama eked out a narrow 80-76 win to bounce back from their game one defeat and tie their best-of-five match-up at 1-1.
Muharraq, on the other hand, were dominant in a 96-69 rout of Ahli to move one game shy of wrapping up their final four battle and marching forward to the championship series, which is also to be played best-of-five games.
Both of yesterday’s clashes were contested at Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town, with no fans in attendance.
Manama and Najma will now be looking to gain the advantage when they meet for game three on Wednesday at 6pm. Muharraq will be aiming to complete a resounding sweep although Ahli will be battling to stay in the fight when they hit the hardwood for their third game that same evening, scheduled for an 8pm tip-off. The finals are also slated to take place next month.
In Manama’s hard-earned triumph, they took a comfortable 14-point lead at 37-23 early in the second quarter following a Mohammed Buallay three-pointer. But Najma roared back before the half and cut their deficit to just 36-41.
Najma continued to chip away in the third and tied the game at 53-all following a Donovan Smith triple. Mohammed Hussain then buried his own basket from beyond the arc to put Najma ahead 56-55, but Hasan Nowrooz answered right away to edge Manama back in front, and they managed to stay in command 63-60 with only the fourth quarter left to play.
In the last canto, Najma stayed within striking distance until the closing minutes, when timely baskets by Nowrooz and Ahmed Salman helped keep their team afloat. Salman hit an off-balanced jump shot as he was falling out of bounds that made it 78-70 with just under a minute-and-a-half remaining.
Najma put up one last stand, with Mohammed Kowayed scoring six unanswered points to bring them to within a possession and only 17 seconds left on the clock, but two Salman free-throws sealed the win for Manama.
Nowrooz had 26 points to spearhead Manama in the game while firing in an impressive eight three-pointers. Alex Young scored 19 off the bench while Ali Jaber had 16.
Smith had 27 to spearhead Najma in the loss. Kowayed contributed 15 and Hussain had 10. The highly anticipated debut of newly signed Austin Ajukwa disappointed, as he was held to four points in just 10 minutes of playing time.
In Muharraq’s win yesterday, they led from start to finish and built leads as big as 29 points late on. After leading 42-33 at the interval, they then blew the game wide open, outscoring Ahli by 10 in the third, giving them a 71-52 cushion heading into the final frame.
They kept their foot on the pedal all the way until the end, giving Ahli no chance to mount a comeback. Nick West had 25 points to pace Muharraq while Ali Hussain added 16. Michael Warren chipped in with 12 while Mohammed Juma’a scored 11. Anthony Fairley was the top man for Ahli, scoring 21 points in the losing effort. Hesham Sarhan was their only other player in double figures with 12.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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