AL Ettihad fended off Al Ahli’s challenge 78-74 last night in a Group ‘A’ game of the Bahrain Basketball Association Cup at Zain Arena in Umm-Al-Hassam.
A huge lead of 23 points at the end of the opening quarter (30-7) gave Ettihad a massive advantage but Ahli staged a remarkable comeback in the second and reduced the deficit to just eight.
In the third quarter, Ettihad launched an all-out attack that fetched them 16 points while their opponents could only manage seven.
But Ahli did not lose hope and made another promising comeback in the exciting final canto that almost took them to an amazing win. Ettihad, however, held their nerves and grabbed a four-point victory.
Ali Helal scored 25 points for the winners while Jassim Abul set the pace for Ahli.
“The boys played very well,” said Ettihad’s assistant coach Job Nelson from Nigeria.
“Our players rotated the ball commendably and that was crucial,” added Nelson, a former Nigerian national team player who has been a resident of Bahrain for more than 15 years.
Ahli coach Ahmed Jan exuded confidence despite last night’s loss.
“We are among the top contenders,” said Jan. “Tonight we were short of star players since some of our team members are away on national duty.”
Jan added that his side is focused on being in the top six in the league.
“We are prepared for the challenges ahead,” he said.
In the second game of the evening, Nuwaidrat eased past Al Najma 101-81 after a well-fought first-half.
The game got off to an entertaining start with both teams failing in their attempts to cut loose. The first quarter seemed to go Nuwaidrat’s way when they led 22-19, but Najma’s Ali Turabi sprang a surprise in the final second, draining a three-pointer and levelling scores 22-22.
At 41-42, Najma raised hopes of levelling the scores and moving past their opponents, but they failed to convert a free throw and Nuwaidrat seized the initiative shooting a couple of free throws to go ahead by three points (41-44) at half-time.
Nuwaidrat surged ahead in the third quarter grabbing a 12-point lead and maintaining the margin throughout the canto.
Najma made a spirited start in the final quarter by shrinking Nuwaidrat’s lead to just five points and not allowing their opponents to score in the first three minutes.
However, Nuwaidrat regrouped and went from strength to strength, with Mohamed Batti’s three-pointer taking their score to 101.
Batti was the top scorer for the winners with 25 points while Ebrahim Albasri contributed 21 and Ahmed Hassan 16.
Today, Manama take on Samaheej at 5.30pm in a Group B game.
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