BASKETBALL – Two of Bahrain’s biggest basketball clubs will be squaring off tonight with only one keeping their title ambitions alive in a leading regional tournament.
Long-time rivals Manama and Al Ahli lock horns in game three of their best-of-three play-off series for a berth in the Gulf sub-zone semi-finals of the 2024-25 Fiba West Asia Super League (WASL).
The winner-take-all affair is scheduled for a 10pm tip-off and it will be played at the Bahrain Basketball Association Arena in Um Al Hassam.
Ahli drew first blood by taking game one 65-56 but then Manama battled back to win game two 100-97 to force the rubber match.
The winners move on to the WASL Gulf last four to take on Shabab Al Ahli of the UAE, who are waiting for their opponents in another best-of-three clash, which is scheduled to begin on March 10.
The Manama-Ahli series is one of two play-off pairings for the Gulf semis. The other was between Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait SC of Kuwait, with the Saudis taking the victory in a two-game sweep to move on to face Al Qadsia, also of Kuwait. Their head-to-head is scheduled to get underway on March 11.
Speaking ahead of their do-or-die clash tonight, Ahli’s veteran power forward Mohammed Qurban says that his team is ready to go all out for the victory.
“We have been looking forward to this game for a while now, ever since game two,” Qurban told the GDN last night.
“We had a chance to close them out that night but we missed the opportunity. We will give our best to get the win tomorrow and move on to the semi-finals.
“We are confident in our team. We have great players with plenty of experience in big games, and we are all ready to step up.
“We have our game plan, we know what we need to do, and if we execute, we can get the win.
“We want to do well in this Fiba WASL competition to show what Al Ahli basketball team is made of.”
Ahli will be relying on their formidable Bahraini contingent including Maitham Jameel, Hesham Sarhan, Ahmed Alderazi, Ali Shukrallah, Sadeq Shukrallah, and Qurban, among others.
Manama, meanwhile, will be spearheaded by their own strong local core, including Ahmed Salman, Subah Hussain, Mohammed Kowayed, Mohammed Buallay, Hussain Shaker, Ali Jaber, and Hasan Nowrooz.
Shabab Al Ahli and Qadsia earned automatic berths in the final four having topped their respective groups in the preliminary round.
The two semi-final winners will then square off for the WASL Gulf title, also to be held best-of-three, currently scheduled for April. The losers in the semis will play for third place that same month.
The top three teams from WASL Gulf sub-zone as well as the WASL West Asia sub-zone will qualify for the Fiba WASL Final Eight. They will be joined by the champions of South and Central Asia to determine this season’s overall WASL champions.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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