Manama, Nuwaidrat triumph in basketball league

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Defending champions Manama and Nuwaidrat claimed contrasting victories last night on the final evening of week one in the 2023/2024 Zain Bahrain Basketball League.

Manama cruised to a lopsided 99-54 rout of Samaheej, while Nuwaidrat stunned powerhouses Al Ahli 88-79. In Manama’s triumph, they led from start to finish and made the most of their talent and size advantage, with Samaheej playing without any foreign professionals.

They extended a 24-17 lead after the first to 52-27 at the half, and never looked back. Manama enjoyed leads as big as their final winning margin of 45 points. Sir’Dominic Pointer top scored for Manama with 16 points, while Ali Jaber added 12 and Travin Thibodeaux had 10.

Basel Adel paced Samaheej with 14 while Ahmed Adel Abbas scored 11. Meanwhile, Nuwaidrat made a winning start to the new season in an upset of perennial title contenders Ahli. After trailing 46-48 at the half, Nuwaidrat came alive in the last two quarters and built a double-digit lead late on.

Ahli roared back and were able to get to within 77-80 with just over two minutes to play, but then Sameen Swint made back-to-back three-pointers to restore Nuwaidrat’s cushion and virtually ice the game.

Lamar Marolly poured in 37 points and took down 11 rebounds to spearhead the victors, while Swint added 18 and Abbas Jameel 13. For Ahli, Patrick McGlynn scored 26 and Subah Hussain added 14 in the loss.