Champions Al Ahli cruise past Samaheej

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Maitham Jameel erupted for 41 points while firing in 10 three-pointers to spearhead Al Ahli to a 131-75 demolition of Samaheej last night in the 2021/2022 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.

The defending back-to-back league-and-cup champions were dominant in the contest from the opening tip and never trailed. They enjoyed the biggest lead of 56 points, which was also their final winning margin. Jameel was red hot from the field coming off the bench, finishing with the game-high in just 23 minutes of play. His 10 triples helped Ahli bury an astounding 23 three-pointers in the game.

American professional Anthony McClain added 30 points and 11 rebounds to go with four blocked shots for Ahli, while Sayed Hashim Habib finished with 15 points, all from beyond the arc. Subah Hussain had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Hesham Sarhan added 12 points while dishing out 12 assists, and Ali Aqeel scored 11 as Ahli’s sixth player in double figures.

Basel Adel had 17 points to lead Samaheej, who were playing without an import. Ahli took a 35-14 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. They stretched their advantage to 101-59 at the end of the third before cruising in the final frame. Ahli improved to a 3-0 win-loss record while Samaheej dropped to 1-2.

Meanwhile, Nuwaidrat edged past Al Ettihad 77-70 in yesterday’s other game. The victors headed into the final quarter with a comfortable 62-52 lead, but Ettihad were able to get as close as four points with just over two minutes to go, but Nuwaidrat did well to hold on until the final buzzer.

Hassan Abbas and Anthony Walker combined for 51 points to pace Nuwaidrat, who claimed their first win in two games. Abbas had 27 and Walker finished with 24 to go with 18 rebounds. For Ettihad, who suffered their second loss in three contests, Stephen Hurt was their leading scorer with 29 points in the loss. League action continues on Thursday.