BASKETBALL – SITRA made national basketball history last night after being crowned the first-ever champions of the all-new Bahrain Under-21 Basketball League.
Sitra secured the title with a resounding 84-60 victory over Al Najma in the final, played in front of a large crowd of supporters from both clubs at the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex.
In attendance for the contest were Bahrain Olympic Committee vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, BBA president Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, and other high-ranking officials.
Following the championship-decider, Shaikh Isa and Shaikh Mohammed presented both teams their respective trophies and medals.
Sitra burst out of the gate last night and took a commanding 15-2 lead to start things off. They held Najma to single digits in the entire opening period, and never looked back from there.
The victors built gaps as big as 28 points in the second half, and they never allowed their opponents to make a serious challenge for the win.
Ali Mohsen spearheaded Sitra in the game and nearly finished with an outstanding triple double.
He scored 24 points on an efficient 10-for-16 shooting from the field and also took down nine rebounds while dishing out nine assists. Mohsen was red hot from beyond the arc, firing in four three-pointers, and he also registered six steals in an impressive all-around performance.
Ebrahim Murad came off the bench to contribute 15 points and 11 rebounds for Sitra, while Ali Jawad Salman added 13 points. Both Murad and Salman connected on three triples apiece in the win.
Mahmood Ebrahim was Sitra’s fourth man in double figures, scoring 11 points and also grabbing 10 boards.
For Najma, Jock James had a monster effort of 18 points and 20 rebounds but also had eight turnovers in the loss.
Mohammed Sami chipped in with 14 points and 11 boards, while Montahar Hasan Khalifa finished with 12, which was their only bench points throughout the game.
Sitra built a 24-8 cushion at the end of the opening quarter, which they extended to 44-19 at the break.
Salman was then on target from long range to begin the third period to give Sitra their biggest lead of the night at 47-19, and although Najma outscored them by six points in the frame, Sitra still took a comfortable 64-45 advantage into the final canto.
There, they cruised to the finish line, and Mohsen applied the dagger with a three-pointer that made it 84-59 with just two minutes to play.
Sitra and Najma set up their title clash yesterday after taking big wins last week in the last four.
Sitra ousted Al Ahli 72-62 in their semi-final, while Najma defeated Muharraq 94-89.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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