Bahrain Club, Al Ettihad power past opposition

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain Club and Al Ettihad were both victorious last night in their week 11 games of the 2021/2022 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.

Bahrain Club outplayed Nuwaidrat 82-68 while Ettihad powered past Samaheej 102-82. Both games were played at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.

Bahrain Club built a comfortable lead in the first half and headed into the break with a double-digit advantage of 44- 30.

They continued to dominate in the final two periods and went ahead by as many as 25 points with under five minutes to go in the contest.

They then cruised to the end, which allowed Nuwaidrat to reduce the deficit to just 14 at the final whistle. Senegalese professional Ibrahima Thomas spearheaded the victors with 26 points while Fadhel Abbas added 14 and Ali Abbas had 10.

Bahrain Club claimed their seventh win to go with three losses with the result. Omran Yousif had 15 to lead Nuwaidrat, who were dealt their seventh loss to go with three wins.

Hussain Mansoor Madan chipped in with 12 and Abbas Jameel along with Mohamed Salman Ali had 11 apiece.

In yesterday’s other game, Ettihad used a strong second half to pull away from Samaheej following a close opening two periods.

 They led by just six, 48-42, at the interval, which they extended marginally to 74-66 after three.

They then finished with a flurry in the final canto, outscoring Samaheej by 12 to close out the 20-point decision.

Ettihad enjoyed gaps of up to 22 points late in the fourth quarter.

They enjoyed a balanced attack with six players in double-figures, led by Brian Bridgeforth who finished with 26 points while also taking down 18 boards.

Hassan Albossta came off the bench to contribute 19, while Fadhel Abdulelah added 16.

For Samaheej, Mansour Kasse scored 34 points and had 18 rebounds with six assists.

Basel Adel contributed 18 and Ahmed Fateel 14 in the loss.

Following the game, Ettihad improved to a 4-6 win-loss record but it is not enough to earn them a place in the top six of the league.

Samaheej, on the other hand, suffered their ninth loss to go with just one win.

League action continues tonight with the week 10 finale between bitter rivals Al Ahli and Manama.

The game is scheduled for a 7 pm tip-off, and it will determine whether Ahli can end the league’s preliminary round with an undefeated record.

They head into the clash having won all nine of their games so far.

Manama has an 8-1 mark and will look to upset the back-to-back defending champions.