Al Ahli claim league bronze

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Al Ahli won the bronze medals last night in the 2022/2023 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.

Ahli finished the season third overall after defeating Al Ettihad 100-81 in their final classification contest, played at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town.

The two teams were the losing semi-finalists in their respective Golden Square series, with Ahli losing to defending league champions Manama and Ettihad bowing to Muharraq, both in three games.

Ahli opened last night ’s game scoring nine unanswered points but Ettihad roared back to take a 15-13 lead with a Viacheslav Kravstov hook shot.

But Ahli then used a dominant second-quarter performance to turn a 26-31 deficit at the end of the first to a 57-49 advantage at the half.

They maintained their impressive form after the break and extended their lead to 78-60 after three periods, while enjoying a biggest lead at that time of 22 points.

In the final canto, Ahli cruised and went ahead by as many as 25 en route to the final whistle.

Hesham Sarhan spearheaded a balanced Ahli attack with 25 points, including three three-pointers.

American Dakari Johnson added 20 to go with 18 rebounds, while Subah Hussain chipped in with 16 markers and 12 boards.

Mohammed Kowayed added 15 and Jassim Abul scored 11 coming off the bench for Ahli.

For Ettihad, Kravstov finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds in the losing effort.

Ali Jassim had 15 while Ali Ghadeer scored 14 while dishing out nine assists and grabbing eight rebounds.

Jassim had three three-pointers in the game while Ghadeer had four. Sayed Kadhem Majed chipped in with 13 markers in defeat.

Manama, Muharraq to clash for Khalifa bin Salman Cup

An exciting head-to-head in a pair of title-deciders between Manama and Muharraq gets underway tonight.

This evening, tipping off at 7pm at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town, will be the final of this season’s Khalifa bin Salman Cup basketball tournament.

The single-game clash for the coveted trophy will see both teams gunning for only their second title in the annual competition.

Manama previously won the Khalifa bin Salman Cup in the 2017/2018 season, while Muharraq triumphed the previous year in the inaugural edition of the event.

Manama advanced to the final after defeating Al Ahli in three games in their best-ofthree Golden Square semi-final, while Muharraq made it through with a two-game sweep over Sitra in the same round.

Meanwhile, Manama and Muharraq are also scheduled to meet in the championship series of the 2022/2023 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.

This will be a best-of-five battle, tipping off on Friday at 7pm at the same venue. Game two will be held on June 5, while the rest of the games are still to be determined.

The series is a repeat of last season’s league finals, and Manama are looking for a repeat championship.

Muharraq, on the other hand, are hoping to avenge their loss.