Muharraq power past Qatar’s Rayyan

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Muharraq posted their second successive victory in the 2023/2024 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) last night. The Bahrainis powered past Al Rayyan of Qatar 79-65 at Lusail Multipurpose Hall in Doha.

The result maintained their position in second place on the Group A standings in the Gulf sub-zone of the competition’s preliminary round. They had previously lost to Kuwait Sporting Club of Kuwait in their opening fixture but bounced back with a big win against Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia.

Their victory yesterday wrapped up their FIBA WASL schedule for the year, as they only return to the hardwood in the tournament in 2024. Their next assignment will be against Kuwait SC once again on 8 January in a game that will be played in Kuwait City.

Muharraq are making their debut in the regional championship. They are joined by reigning FIBA WASL champions Manama as the two Bahraini clubs competing this season. In their win last night, Muharraq extended their 22-16 lead at the end of the first quarter to double digits in the second.

A Bader Abdulla Malabes driving lay-up just before the half-time buzzer gave them a 46-34 advantage at the break. The Bahrainis continued to build on their advantage in the third, where they went ahead by as many as 15 points.

Rayyan fought back to within single digits in the final canto, but never really threatened as Muharraq did enough to seal the win. Ra’Shad James top scored for the winners with 20 points, while Tyler Wilkerson finished with 19 markers. Austin Daye chipped in with 13 and Malabes finished with 11.

Nick Griffin was Rayyan’s leading performer with 27 points, while mouhammad Faye had 15 and Malek Salem Abdulla 10. Following their next assignment against Kuwait SC, Muharraq face Ahli in Jeddah on 30 January and then complete this stage against Rayyan at home on 12 February.

Manama, on the other hand, travel to the UAE to face Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai on 18 December in their third Group B assignment. The competition format for the second season of the FIBA WASL remains the same as the inaugural campaign.

The three best teams at the end of the WASL Gulf sub-zone and the WASL West Asia sub-zone leagues earn their tickets to the WASL Final Eight. There, they will be joined by the champion teams from South Asia and Central Asia, and they will all vie for the right to become cage kings of the region.

Prior to the Final Eight, each sub-zone league will feature two groups of four teams, with the top seeds by the end of the round-robin opening phase directly qualifying to the best-of-three semi-finals. The second and third-ranked teams will play for the other final four berths, also in a best-of-three.