Ahli outplay Manama to take finals opener

TDT | Manama

Al Ahli powered to a well-deserved 1-0 lead in the best-of-three championship series of the delayed 2019/2020 Zain Bahrain Basketball League, following a 94-81 victory over arch-rivals Manama last night at Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam. American professional Dominique Sutton scored a game-high 30 points to spearhead the victors in the finals opener.

Ahli used a dominant third quarter to change the face of the game, which was tightly fought throughout the first half. Ahli led by as many as 15 points the rest of the way and did well to hold off a potential Manama surge in the final canto. Ahli will now be looking to close things out in game two, scheduled to be played on Saturday, while Manama will be aiming to extend the series to a decisive third game.

If needed, that rubber match will be played on Wednesday next week. Both contests are scheduled for a 7 pm tip-off and will be played at the same venue. Sutton finished game one with an impressive stat-line of 12 rebounds, five assists, and five steals to go along with his scoring output. Fellow-US import Brandon Brown also had a fine all-around effort of 12 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

Brown was among four other Ahli players in double figures. The sharp-shooting Bahraini backcourt of Hesham Sarhan and Maytham Jameel combined for 30 points, while skipper Mohammed Qurban chipped in with 12. The trio had five three-pointers between them. Polish professional Maciej Lampe had 20 points and 15 boards to pace Manama in the loss.

Court general Mohammed Hussain added 18 with three triples, while big men Mohammed Ameer and American Harvey Jerai Grant had 11 apiece. Ahmed Salman finished with 10 for Manama. Ahli outscored Manama by 13, 23-10, in the third period to take a comfortable 69-57 advantage into the final frame.

It was mostly close before that, with Ahli taking a slim 23- 22 lead at the end of the first quarter but then Manama going ahead by one, 47-46, at the interval. Ahli and Manama are two of Bahrain’s biggest and historically most successful basketball teams. Manama earned their finals slot after defeating Riffa in the Golden Square semi-final round, while Ahli followed suit after dethroning defending champions Muharraq.