Ettihad draw first blood against Najma

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Al Ettihad battled past Al Najma 100-94 last night to draw first blood in their best-of-three play-off series for a berth in the Golden Square semi-finals of the 2022/2023 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.

Ali Jassim buried a go-ahead three-pointer with just over four minutes remaining to give Ettihad the lead for good.

They then did enough to remain in front until the final buzzer, securing their one-game advantage in the series.

Ettihad will be looking to close out their match-up with a win in game two on Wednesday. Najma, on the other hand, will be hoping to extend the series to a third game.

If necessary, it will be held on April 19.

Former NBA forward Cleanthony Early poured in 42 points and nearly finished with a triple double after also taking down 10 rebounds and dishing out nine assists for Ettihad.

Ukrainian import Viacheslav Kravtsov added 25 and 15 boards for Ettihad, while Jassim finished with 14 as their only other player in double figures.

For Najma, Nick Ward had 31 points in the loss while Terrico White and Mohammed Hussain each chipped in with 17.

Ettihad held a slim 23-22 edge at the end of the first quarter, which they extended to 53-48 lead at the half.

Najma fought back and took a 74-72 advantage at the end of the third, and continued to stay in front until Jassim’s late-game heroics.

There is another best-of-three series in this stage of the league between defending champions Manama and Bahrain Club.

They begin their tussle on Friday next week, with game two scheduled for April 18. A third game, if needed, has been slated for April 25.

All four teams are looking to join Muharraq and Al Ahli in the Golden Square.

They booked automatic berths in the final four after finishing as the top two teams in the season.

The winner of the Ettihad-Najma series will meet top-seeded Muharraq, while the victor between Manama and Bahrain Club will face off with Ahli.

Manama set for winner-take-all contest with Kazma

Bahrain league champions Manama Club play their winner-take-all game three against Kazma of Kuwait tomorrow night in their bestof-three qualification series for the semi-finals of the Gulf sub-zone in the 2022/2023 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL).

Manama stayed alive in their match-up after defeating their Kuwaiti counterparts 100-90 in a thrilling game two last week in Kuwait City.

The Bahrainis had earlier lost their first meeting 69-83 at home, but now head for the rubber match, which will take place at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam with a 10pm tip-off.

There is another qualification to the semi-finals series between Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai and Al Nassr Riyadh of Saudi Arabia.

Should Manama overcome their Kazma test, they will earn a berth in the Gulf’s final four, where they will face Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, also over three games.

Those will take place on April 17, April 24 and May 1.