DOHA (Qatar) - Tony Carr came to the rescue once more and saved Manama past Al Arabi SC, 77-75, for their third straight win in the 2024/2025 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) on Monday night at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall.
Fully embracing his role as the team's closer, the seasoned winger knocked down both of his free throws to give themselves the lead back, 76-75, with 31.7 seconds remaining in the game to negate the own charities of Mosti Rashed prior.
An off-line three by Rashed afterward, followed by a split from the foul line by Mohamed Kowaid and then a missed heave by Victor Rudd as time expired were all enough for the inaugural champions to secure the triumph - and the payback.
Manama absorbed one of their first two defeats of the season at the hands of the Qatari side, and so it couldn't get any sweeter to have exacted revenge with a win that also gained them a share of the Group B lead in the Gulf League.
They have now joined Al Qadsia SC on top of the pool as both teams now tote identical 3-2 records, making the final games of the Group Phase next week all the more crucial as they will dispute no. 1 seed against different opponents.
Game heroes: Carr was just two assists shy of a rare triple-double as he finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists, adding 3 steals as well in 38 minutes to net an efficiency of 39. He did all that without committing a single turnover.
He was the only double-digit scorer for Manama in the victory although all nine players fielded by Coach Linos Gavriel contributed at least 3 points.
Turning point: The Bahraini club had already earned momentum during the third through a 12-0 run to end the frame with a 60-57 lead, and even inflated the spread as six, 74-68, with less than four minutes remaining in the final period.
But Al Arabi refused to throw in the towel, with Rashed powering an 8-0 spree to get the lead back to the home team, 75-74, with 37.1 seconds on the clock.
Carr, however, happened, driving aggressively to the lane for the foul before coolly sinking the pressure-packed free throws to put them ahead for good as he once again reprised the role he took to beat Ittihad Club last December, 67-66.
Ittihad, interestingly, will be their opponent next week, with Manama definitely looking to complete this revenge tour of sorts by taking them down.
Stats don't lie: Following yet another solid effort, Carr notched his second double-double of the season. His first was a 24-point, 10-assist performance against, coincidentally, Al Arabi during their first encounter last November.
They said: "Definitely, it was an important road win against a team that beat us at home. It was tough to lose that game back then. But lately we are working hard, finding our chemistry with the new guys. I always say we're a new team since we have six new faces, and it wasn't easy to function well in the beginning ... It was a tough game, a tough win. Al Arabi fought. And for us, this win came from hustle and effort, especially in the end." - Linos Gavriel, Head Coach, Manama
"I think it was a good game. I think it was a good team win. There were ups and downs in the game but we stayed together. We fought through the tough times and we came out on top. Like Coach said, last time we lost by one, this time we won by two. A win is a win." - Tony Carr, Guard, Manama
"Congratulations to Manama, and hard luck for my team. For sure what I can say is that we put our hearts for 40 minutes. The energy was there, the effort was there. But it came down to the important decisions in the endgame. That's what we didn't do, really well, and maybe that's what got Manama the lead. And that's how they won the game. We have one more chance against Qadsia in the next game, we will go all in for it. It's the only chance we have." - Moustafa Fouda, Guard, Al Arabi SC
FIBA