Road to WASL Final 8 2023 Dubai: Manama

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Manama have been one of the well-known ball clubs in the region and the recent WASL-Gulf League further added to their legend.

That's why they're one of the teams being looked out for in the WASL Final 8, with some waiting to see if they can once again shock the playing field.

HISTORY

The ball club was founded in 1946 and eventually became synonymous with winning by clinching championships in the Bahraini Premier League, as well as other domestic competitions like the BBA Cup and the BBA Supercup.

Manama have also seen action in international tournaments such as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup and the annual Arab club championship.

The team was once mentored by former NBA veteran and coach Sam Vincent who was also head coach of the Bahrain national team for a period. Some of the notable names that have donned the red-and-blue uniform include ex-NBA cagers Josh Boone, Devin Ebanks, and Jordan Crawford.

PAST SUCCESS

Manama are the most successful team in the Premier League with a total of 21 championships, including 10 consecutive from 1997 to 2006.

 

They have also won the BBA Cup 17 times and the Supercup 5 times. Plus, they have an Asia Champions Cup bronze medal to boot, achieving that in 2000.

HOW DID THEY GET HERE?

Manama reached the Final 8 following a two-game sweep of Al Hilal in the WASL-Gulf Semi-Finals last April, a culmination of the team's massive turnaround from being good to legitimate contenders during the course of the Final Phase.

Although they fell short of winning the Gulf title against the unbeaten Kuwait Club in the Final, the journey they had toward the Big Dance resonated more to the region.

Manama needed to take a longer route after missing out on clinching Group B's top spot that merits a direct flight to the Semis. Things didn't start off well after losing to Kazma in Game 1 of their Qualification to Semi-Finals series.

But that, apparently, was the needed spark to light up what would be a playoff run so impressive. They went on to take the next two games to beat the Kuwaiti crew, who, at the time, were making their own case as a dark horse in the Gulf League.

Then they beat Hilal in the Semis, a big upset as well since the team from Saudi Arabia were among the first entrants to the said stage being Group A's best team.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Considered as the face of Manama's turnaround, Lamont "Momo " Jones is once again expected to banner their attack in the June 9-17 competitions in Dubai.

Jones has emerged as the team's unquestioned leader since being picked up in the middle of the WASL season, a time when the club also brought back Coach Linos Gavriel before signing up big man Travin Thibodeaux shortly after.

Those three have received much of the credit behind Manama's heater run in the Final Phase although they're also deflecting as much to their teammates.

While Jones and Thibodeaux personify the grit-and-grind mantra, there's no denying the impact others have brought. There's veteran winger Elijah Robinson, who has seen how his team morphed as he's been with them since they started in WASL.

The Final Phase then saw Ahmed Haji and Mohammed Hamooda both becoming integral pieces, plus Mustafa Rashed's re-emergence from a scoreless stretch.

FIBA