Bahrain Club off to winning start in BBA Silver League

Bahrain Club defeated Samaheej 93-77 last night to get their campaign off to a winning start in the Zain Bahrain Silver League, currently being played at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam. Bahrain Club took the lead early on and never looked back. They were ahead 22-12 at the end of the first quarter, and then they stretched their advantage to 46-28 at the half.

Samaheej outscored their rivals by three in the third period but still trailed 50-65, and then both teams were almost evenly matched in the last canto en route to the final buzzer. The Silver League is the championship for the six bottom-ranked teams from the Zain Bahrain Basketball League’s preliminary round. Elsewhere in the Silver League’s opening round of games, Sitra overcame Nuwaidrat 87-82 while Al Ettihad defeated Isa Town 81-63.

Sitra faced a massive deficit heading into the second half but used a scintillating fourth-quarter performance to steal the victory. Sitra led 24-18 after the first period but were then outscored by 20 in the second quarter to fall behind 39-53. Sitra fought back in the third quarter and reduced the gap to 63-74, before seizing control in the fourth and final frame with a red hot performance where they outscored Nuwaidrat 24-8 to seal the win.

Also victorious were Ettihad, who cruised against Isa Town in a generally one-sided game. Ettihad raced out of the gate and took a 26-11 lead after one. In the second quarter Isa Town fought back and closed in to within 33-40 at the half, and they continued to reduce the gap although marginally in the third, which ended 49-55. But Ettihad closed the game out with a superb fourth quarter, where they fired in 26 points while holding Isa Town to just 14.

All three winning teams will be hoping to continue their impressive starts and carry them over to their next games next week as they battle for their division’s crown. Silver League action continues on Tuesday with Nuwaidrat facing Isa Town. Then, on Saturday next week, Ettihad and Nuwaidrat face off. On Sunday, Sitra and Samaheej lock horns in the day’s early game.

The late game will see the Zain Bahrain Top Six League commence, with an exciting clash between Al Ahli and Riffa. The rest of the Top Six includes Manama, who were the only unbeaten squad from the preliminary round, defending league champions Muharraq, and title outsiders Al Hala and Al Najma.