Muharraq clinch semis berth in Khalifa bin Salman Cup

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Muharraq marched through to the semi-finals of the 2022/2023 Khalifa bin Salman Cup last night following a lopsided 101-74 victory over Al Hala at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.

Muharraq erupted for 36 points in the first quarter and built a commanding double-digit lead in the process. They never looked back from there, leading by as many as 31 points in the contest.

Muharraq are now through to the tournament’s last four where they will face off with Sitra. Muharraq are aiming for only their second title in the competition’s history.

Sitra had already booked their seats in the semis with a scrappy 86-83 win in overtime over Nuwaidrat in their quarter-final clash.

Muharraq were paired with Hala in the last eight after Hala defeated Al Najma 83-76 in their preliminary round fixture.

The other semi-final will be between three-time defending champions Al Ahli and the winner of the quarter-final game between league champions Manama and Bahrain Club.

Ahli punched their tickets to the final four with a resounding 105-82 rout of Al Ettihad.

Bader Abdulla Malabes spearheaded the Muharraq charge last night with 38 points, including a red-hot eight three-pointers, to go with seven rebounds.

Three other Muharraq players were in double figures, including American professional DeWayne Jackson who had 13, Abdulla Rabeea with 12 and Hussain Salman who scored 10.

Jackson also had 13 boards while Ali Shukrallah had eight, and Salman dished out eight assists.

For Hala, Adrian Uter from the US had 27 points in the loss, while Ali Oun Rustam came off the bench to contribute 13.

Muharraq led 36-19 at the end of the first quarter and remained 17 ahead, 57-40, at the half.

In the third, they stretched their lead even further and enjoyed a commanding 82-55 cushion heading into the final period, where they cruised to the final buzzer.

This year’s Khalifa bin Salman Cup is the seventh edition of the prestigious annual basketball tournament, which is held in honour of the late His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The tournament was launched in the 2016/2017 season, and Muharraq were the first winners.

Manama then claimed the trophy in 2018, and then Riffa took the crown the following year. Ahli have then won the title every year since.

They will be looking to add to their triumphs in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with an historic “four-peat ” this season.

Ahli claimed last year’s final after defeating Manama 84-76.