Manama pull off stunning win

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Bahrain’s Manama pulled off a come-from-behind 82-78 overtime victory over Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia last night to draw first blood in their semi-final series in the Gulf sub-zone of the 2022/2023 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL).

The reigning Bahrain league champions battled back from a double-digit deficit to overcome their rivals at Green Basketball Court in Riyadh.

Ahmed Salman buried a corner three-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation to send the contest into the extra session, and there Manama outscored Hilal 14-10.

Salman was once again clutch to end overtime, making two pressure-packed free-throws with 8.1 seconds to seal the win.

The Bahrainis now enjoy a 1-0 advantage in their best-of-three match-up.

Manama will be looking to close out the series with a victory in game two, scheduled for Monday next week. Manama will have home court in that fixture.

Game three, if needed, will be back in Saudi on May 1. Salman and Mohammed Ameer top scored for Manama with 17 points apiece last night.

American Lamont Jones added 15 points and 10 assists, while Mustafa Hussain chipped in with 13.

Travis Thibodeaux scored eight points and took down 13 rebounds for Manama in the win.

For Hilal, Clint Chapman was their top scorer with 23 points, while Mohammed Alsuwailem added 16 and 15 boards in the loss.

Hilal had a slim 18-16 edge at the end of the first quarter, and then extended the gap to 40-30 at the half.

Manama battled back in the third to cut the deficit to 53-58 heading into the final canto, where they took the lead midway through only to give it up late on.

Hilal’s Osama Albargawi missed a chance to put the game away with one of two free-throws with 19 seconds to play and a 68-65 lead, setting the stage for Salman’s heroics.

In overtime, Manama came up with the big plays and did enough to secure the all-important win.

The other Gulf zone semi-final series is between Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai and Kuwait SC of Kuwait.

It is also to be played in a best-of-three format, with game one taking place tonight.

The WASL is a new basketball competition sanctioned by FIBA, the sport’s global governing body. Manama are one of 16 teams in this inaugural edition.

Along with the Gulf sub-zone, there is a West Asia sub-zone.

The top three teams from the WASL Gulf and WASL West Asia sub-zones qualify for the WASL Final 8, where they will be joined by champions of South Asia and Central Asia.

The WASL Final 8 will qualify for FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2023, on the road to FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2023, FIBA’s highest club competition