Manama open West Asia Super League with win

TDT | Manama                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Bahrain champions Manama made a winning start to their campaign in the first-ever West Asia Super League (WASL) last night following a hard-earned 75-72 victory over Al Nasr Riyadh of Saudi Arabia.

The game was an away fixture for the Bahrainis, played at Green Basketball Court in Riyadh, and it was part of the WASL’s Gulf sub-zone.

Manama needed to battle hard for the result. They held a 59-51 lead heading into the fourth quarter but Nasr were able to storm to a 62-59 advantage with a furious 11-0 run to begin the period.

Manama regained their composure and later tied the proceedings at 67-all and things remained close until the closing seconds.

Elijah Robinson gave the Bahrainis the lead for good at 73-72 with a lay-up and just 19 seconds to play.

Ahmed Aldurazi and Ahmed Najaf then both split their charity shots to put Manama ahead by three, which pegged the final score.

Aldurazi finished as the Bahrainis’ leading scorer with 18 points, while Robinson added 17 and Lamonte Ulmer chipped in with 14.

Najaf and Charles Wayne Garcia each contributed seven points for Manama. Brandon Austin scored 29 to pace Al Naser while Musab Tariq Kadi scored 13.

Manama led 27-23 at the end of the first quarter and remained in front 37-30 at the half. The WASL is a new basketball competition sanctioned by FIBA, the sport’s global governing body.

Manama are one of 16 teams in the inaugural edition.

They are in Group B of the Gulf sub-zone alongside Al Sadd SC of Qatar, Kuwait SC of Kuwait, and Nasr.