Manama go down fighting!

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Bahrain’s Manama Club fell behind 0-1 last night in their best-of-three championship series of the Gulf sub-zone in the 2022/2023 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL).

Manama suffered a disheartening 78-87 loss to Kuwait SC in the opening game of their finals clash, played at Shaikh Saad Abdullah Sport Hall Complex in Kuwait City.

Manama fell behind by as many as 15 points in the contest but were able to roar back in the fourth quarter and get to within two.

But Kuwait made the key baskets in the game’s closing moments while Manama could not take advantage of their opportunities as they came up agonisingly short in completing their comeback.

Elijah Robinson scored 23 points to spearhead Manama yesterday while the backcourt tandem of Lamont Jones and Mustafa Hussain combined for 37, with Jones scoring 20.

They were the team’s only three players in double figures as Mohammed Ameer chipped in with eight markers.

For Kuwait, Cody Lalanne paced their team with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Hamad Hasan added 21 while Jacob Pullen scored 16 and Mohammad Hasan had 11.

The Kuwaitis took an early 11-4 lead in the opening period and Manama later gave up a three-pointer right before the quarter buzzer to go behind 16- 24 at the end of the first.

Manama tried to stay within striking distance in the second but the Kuwaitis stretched their lead to 43-30 at the half.

In third, the home team maintained their double-digit advantage and headed into the final canto up 66-55.

Chip away

There, Manama were able to gradually chip away at the deficit.

Two free-throws by Hussain brought them to within nine, 65- 74, and later an Elijah Robinson three-point play made it 68-74 with five minutes to go.

Jones then split his free-throws and then sank a jumper to make it 74-76, and then Hussain scored from beyond the arc to keep Manama within a single possession, 77-79, with two minutes to go.

The Bahrainis could not get any closer, however, and Kuwait sank their pressure-packed charity shots in the end to close out the win.

With the result, Kuwait remained undefeated in the competition.

They had previously swept the six-game group phase, which included two wins against Manama, before taking their semi-final in two games.

The Kuwaitis will be looking to secure the Gulf title when the two teams face off once again in game two, scheduled for Monday next week at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town.

Manama are hoping to extend the series and send it to a winner-take-all rubber match.

If needed, that will take place on May 22 back in Kuwait City.

Manama punched their tickets to the championship decider after completing a two-game sweep of Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in their semi-final match-up.

Kuwait, on the other hand, defeated Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai in the last four.

With their finals berth, Manama and Kuwait are assured of their places in 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.