Muharraq, Al Ahli through to cup semi-finals

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Muharraq and Al Ahli both advanced last night to the semi-finals of the 2023/2024 Khalifa bin Salman Cup. Muharraq pulled off a miraculous come-from-behind 114- 105 overtime victory against Al Najma to advance, while Ahli booked their place following a resounding 90-70 win over Nuwaidrat.

Muharraq and Ahli now meet in the final four. The other best-of-three series in that stage will be played between the winners of the other single-game quarter-final contests between holders Manama and Al Ettihad, and between Al Hala and Bahrain Club.

Those fixtures are scheduled for this evening. Muharraq made a stunning comeback last night, roaring back from 16 points down, 79- 95, with under three minutes left to end the contest on a 21-5 run, sending it into the extra session deadlocked at 100-all. They then rode their momentum into overtime as Najma could not recover.

Tyler Wilkerson scored 44 points while Ra’shad James added 29, including the game-tying triple with 12 seconds left in regulation. Joshua Caldwell had 43 to pace Najma, while Elijah Robinson scored 25 before fouling out. In Ahli’s win last night, they led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

Ahmed Aldurazi was their leading scorer with 21, including four three-pointers, while Maitham Jameel chipped in with 19 with three treys and 10 rebounds. American professional Unique McLean chipped in with 16 points, while Jamaican import Adrian Uter scored 14 and took down 12 boards for Ahli. Abbas Jameel Ebrahim paced Nuwaidrat with 25. The two semis match-ups will be held in best-of-three format, while the ensuing title-decider will be a single game.