BASKETBALL – MUHARRAQ were crowned champions last night of the 2026-27 Bahrain Super Cup.
Muharraq captured back-to-back titles in the one-off contest, played traditionally as the opening game of the kingdom’s basketball season, following a dominant 94-79 victory over bitter rivals Manama in front of a packed crowd at the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex.
Muharraq led for virtually the entire evening and went up by as many as 24 points in the final quarter.
Lightning-quick point guard Mahmood Abbas scored 18 points to help spearhead the victors, who had four players finish in double figures.
Following all the exciting action, BBA president Engineer Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa presented Muharraq the champions’ trophy, named in honour of former BBA president Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, during the awarding ceremony. Muharraq skipper Bader Abdulla Malabes received the glittering prize on behalf of the club.
Also in attendance during yesterday’s affair was Bahrain Olympic Committee vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, who is also an ex-BBA chief, and other officials.
With the result, Muharraq secured the Bahrain Super Cup for the fourth time in the event’s history and it was also the first time they won it in consecutive seasons. Last night’s game was also the seventh time the two teams met in the annual fixture, with Muharraq winning for only the second time.
Muharraq, who are also two-time defending champions in both the Zain Bahrain Basketball League and the Khalifa bin Salman Cup, used a resounding 11-0 run in the first quarter yesterday to break a 7-all deadlock and take full command. That surge helped them go up 25-13 at the end of the period, and they never looked back from there.
They maintained their strong play in the second and took a 47-34 advantage into the interval.
Over the last two quarters, they led by double digits the entire way. They built a 73-53 cushion heading into the final frame, where an Abbas free-throw following a technical foul on the Manama bench gave them their biggest lead of the night at 88-64 with just over five minutes still to play.
Later, a split from the charity stripe by Glenn Taylor Jr made it 93-73, virtually sealing the big result for Muharraq.
Abbas buried four three-pointers in his team-high output and he also dished out five assists. Taylor Jr chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Mohammed Juma’a came off the bench to score 14 points and grab 10 boards.
Mohammed Ameer contributed 13 points, while Ali Hussain and Nader Ali finished with nine markers each.
Rakeem Christmas paced Manama in the loss with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Brandone Francis had 13 and eight and court general Ahmed Salman had 12 points.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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