Ahli lift Khalifa bin Salman Cup

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Al Ahli was last night crowned champions of the 2020/2021 Khalifa bin Salman Cup. Ahli clinched the coveted title after defeating Manama 96-81 in the tournament final, played at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.

As the result, Ahli secured a league-and-cup double for the second consecutive year. They had also defeated Manama in this year’s league championship series, which they sealed with a two-game sweep. Ahli, coached by Ahmed Jan, had a brilliant start and stormed to a 35-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Manama battled back in the second quarter but still enjoyed a comfortable 53-43 lead at the half. But Ahli turned things up in the third quarter once again and took a 20-point lead, 79-59, into the final canto.

They led by as many as 24 points the rest of the way en route to the big title-clinching win. American Mike Harris and Bahraini guard Hesham Sarhan combined for 64 of Ahli’s points. Harris finished with 34, including four three-pointers.

Ahmed Aldurazi added 14 while Maitham Jameel finished with nine points. Earl Clark paced Manama with 28 points, while Mohammed Hussain had 13 and Mohammed Ameer 12. In last year’s cup competition, Ahli won the final over Manama 99-91. Previous seasons’ cup winners included Riffa, Muharraq and Manama.