Manama outclass Riffa

Manama outclassed Riffa 84-65 last night in their Top Six Division game in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League, being played at Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam. The victors were in control for the virtually the entire contest, extending their lead with a strong fourth quarter en route to securing the final result.

The win was the third for Manama after three assignments in this stage of the league. They handed Riffa their second loss to go with one win. American professional Christopher McKnight top scored for Manama with 22 points. He also had 10 rebounds and four steals. Young guard Mustafa Hussain came off the bench and chipped in with 19 markers, which included five three-pointers. Hassan Nowrooz also provided a spark as a substitute scoring 18 points, including four triples.

Skipper Mohammed Hussain was their fourth player in double-figures with 14 points. Manama were red hot from beyond the arc in the game, firing in 14 three-point baskets in just 27 attempts. US import Joseph Jones was the leading man for Riffa. He had 19 points to go with 10 rebounds. Younes Kuwayed added 15 while Ali Abbas had 13. Manama had a slim 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter but they stretched it to 39-33 at the half.

In the third, they moved ahead even further at 57-47 heading into the final canto, when they closed things out convincingly. Manama went ahead by as many as 21 points in the game. In yesterday’s other fixture in the Silver Division for the league’s bottom six squads, Al Ettihad overcame Bahrain Club 87-79. Ettihad enjoyed a 23-11 final quarter to finally take control of a tightly contested affair.

The result earned them their fourth victory in a row as they stayed atop the division standings with an unbeaten record while Bahrain Club suffered their first defeat in three outings. American William Byrd led Ettihad with 24 points and 10 rebounds while also registering four blocked shots. Sayed Saleh Mahdi came off the bench to contribute 20, while Hasan Fahad had 15 and Nasser Almosawi chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds.

For Bahrain Club, who squandered leads as big as 11 in the game, Serbian-Bosnian professional Dragan Tubak had a monster effort of 24 points and 22 rebounds in the loss. Khalid Ali added 17 while Hussain Lulu contributed 12 as a substitute. League action continues on Friday with a titanic clash in the Top Six between Manama and Al Ahli. The game is scheduled for a 7.30pm tip-off.