MANAMA (Bahrain) - Shabab Al Ahli eked out a 76-73 victory over Al Ahli Club to go 2-0 in the 2024/2025 FIBA WASL-Gulf League, Tuesday night at the BBA Arena.
The UAE League Basketball champions fell victim to the home team's hot start - and to the hostile partisan crowd - but managed to overcome all that, most especially in the final minutes as they avoided being scalped by one of the league's newcomers.
With the escape, the crew has gained a share of the Group A lead with reigning two-time Sub-Zone League titlists Kuwait Club as they tote identical records.
Game heroes: Sir'Dom Pointer finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals on the way to earning STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors.
Qais Omar Alshabebi produced 18 points and 6 rebounds. Shaheed Davis delivered a solid double-double of 14 points and 19 rebounds, while Hamed Lateef chipped in 11 markers as all four did their part to put together a strong second-half surge.
Turning point: Alshabebi himself was key in their third-quarter attack, with the veteran himself giving Shabab Al Ahli the hope that they can ace the difficult test by nailing his lone three-pointer of the night for a 45-44 lead at the 8:23-mark.
Still, Al Ahli countered almost every attack, with DeWayne Jackson triggering a mini 6-0 run to build a 71-67 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth.
But a few miscues and ill-advised shots doomed their chances of finishing the game in their favor, which the visitors took advantage of. Davis himself scored off a putback, then made both of his free throws to make it a 71-all count with 2:36 to go.
It didn't help Coach Jad El Hajj's side that they got assessed with a technical foul shortly after Pointer got fouled by Maitham Isa, giving him a total of three shots from the line as he also shot the technical free throw. Pointer made all of his bonuses.
The window would become smaller and smaller for Al Ahli, with Sadiq Hasan committing a turnover as his supposed save of the possession led to Davis' hands. Lateef would then ice the game with his own freebies, 76-71, with 2.3 ticks left.
Stats don't lie: Shabab Al Ahli held their foes to just a measly 8 points in the deciding period while they poured 20, leaving the latter a frustrated bunch as they wasted an impressive start where they established a 32-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.
They said: "It's a good start for us (2-0). It's something we can build on for the coming games of the tournament. We want to maintain our chemistry and keep our performances steady, so we can move on to the next round." - Qais Omar Alshabebi, Forward, Shabab Al Ahli
"It's hard. We have to learn that it's a 40-minute game. We lost the most important things. We did bad things. We gave them the lead easily. We lost the last quarter, 20-8. We did a lot of mistakes in second chances - they had 16 second-chance points. These are the things that we have to control. We are playing at home, we have to fight more." - Jad El Hajj, Head Coach, Al Ahli Club
FIBA