Manama suffer big loss to German club

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain basketball champions Manama Club bowed to German side Telekom Baskets Bonn 50-105 yesterday in their opening game of the 33rd FIBA Intercontinental Cup, currently being held in Singapore.

The Bahrainis trailed from the opening tip but a second quarter where they were outscored by 18 points, 6-24, put them in a hole they could not get out of. They were behind 16-26 at the end of the first quarter and then were down 22-50 at the half.

The Germans continued to pile on the pressure over the final two periods as Manama went behind by as many as 56 points the rest of the way. American professional Sir’Dominic Pointer scored 14 points to lead the Bahrainis while Ahmed Salman added 12.

Telekom Baskets Bonn had five players in double figures, led by the 28 of Sam Griesel, who was on fire from beyond the arc with six three-pointers. Glynn Watson added 15. The contest was the first for both teams in Group B of the competition’s preliminary round.

It was a somber welcome for Manama to the six-team tournament, which marks the first time ever that any Bahraini club is competing. They qualified as the first-ever champions of the FIBA West Asia Super League.

Manama are back in action today against Chinese Basketball Association representatives Zhejiang Golden Bulls. The game is scheduled for a 2pm tip-off, Bahrain time. Tomorrow, Telekom Baskets Bonn face the Golden Bulls.

Group A features Basketball Champions League Americas winners Sesi Franca from Brazil, Basketball Africa League champions Al Ahly from Egypt, and the NBA G League Ignite from the US. Following tomorrow’s games, a last day of competition will be held on Sunday, with the top teams from their respective groups squaring off in the final.

There will also be a game for third place between the teams that were runners-up in the groups, while the teams that were ranked third will battle to determine fifth place on the event’s final ranking. Manama are coached by Greek-Cypriot tactician Pantelis Gavriel.

They are playing in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup with a squad that has been reinforced by the additions of Pointer and his fellow Americans Travin Thibodeaux and Latavious Williams. The team’s Bahraini contingent is spearheaded by Salman, Mustafa Hussain, Ali Hussain, Hasan Nowrooz, Mohammed Ameer, and veteran court general Hussain Shaker.