JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Tony Carr delivered in the clutch to lift Manama past Ittihad Club, 67-66, to finally nail their first win of the 2024/2024 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) season, Monday night at the Green Basketball Court.
The American guard was cool, calm, and collected, nailing an off-balanced floater against the defense of Mathna Almarwani for the go-ahead bucket with 14.6 seconds left as he showed that he can be leaned on when the going gets tough.
It could be recalled that he missed the potential game-winner in their eventual defeat to Al Arabi the last time out, but he indeed found redemption by coming through with the big-time play that laid to rest the inaugural league champions' winless spell.
Carr finished with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal as the 27-year-old came alive in fourth quarter to help his side emerge triumphant in the nip-and-tuck battle and, more importantly, improve to 1-2 in Group B of the Gulf League.
Game heroes: Clint Chapman led Manama with 14 points and 12 rebounds, together with 2 assists, 1 steal, and 5 blocks for easily his best game with the team in WASL after tallying just a total of 9 points and 5 rebounds in their first two outings.
Hassan Nowrooz and Ahmed Haji supplied 13 points apiece, while AJ John chipped in 11 points and 4 rebounds in a winning return to the pan-regional competition after a short stint with Al Ittihad Ahli in the WASL-West Asia League just last season.
Turning point: Chapman, Nowrooz, and Haji all joined hands for a 7-0 run to open the final period and give themselves a 55-48 advantage with 7:31 remaining.
Having built that lead made it seem like Manama were en route to pulling away for good, but the home team just had no quit in them - to the point that they appeared to be in a position to steal the game inside the final 55.1 seconds.
Fahad Belal and Su Braimoh took turns in blocking Haji's attempts to widen their lead and moments later, Makur Maker would put Ittihad ahead, 66-65, after a perfect trip to the line - off a Chapman foul - with 25.2 seconds left to play.
But then, Carr happened. Manama would then clamp down on defense in the remaining 5.6 seconds of the match, with John and later on Mohamed Buallay preventing Braimoh from having any good look at the basket as time expired.
Stats don't lie: Coach Linos Gavriel and Co. managed to come away with the hard-fought win despite losing the rebounding battle via big margin, 54-36. But they did take care of the ball way better with only 8 turnovers. Ittihad had 15.
They said: "We need to build on this win. Stay humble. This is dedicated to the people that supported us in our difficult start. To all of them. There are not many, but [this is] to all of them that supported us. Manama is back. And we'll keep building. We're gonna keep building on this kind of wins which came from our defense and from guys following the game plan - but also putting their talent on the floor, and managing to win the game." - Linos Gavriel, Head Coach, Manama
"I see us moving forward in a positive way. Even after the losses, we stayed positive. We stayed together. We just try to continue to get better like Coach said. Just taking it one game at a time." - Tony Carr, Guard, Manama
"It's really a pity when you come so close after a good start and you lose the way we lost today. But I don't blame my players. They gave everything today. They fought, all the player that stepped on the floor." - Slobodan Subotic, Head Coach, Ittihad Club
"Hopefully we work with Coach and work on the things that need change, and be better next time." - Nasser Alabsi, Guard, Ittihad Club
FIBA