MANAMA (Bahrain) - Al Ahli Club are bound for the 2024/2025 FIBA WASL-Gulf League Final Phase following an 87-67 victory over Al Bashaer on Monday night.
Playing within the comforts of their own home that is the BBA Arena, the Bahraini side raced to an early lead before breaking away for good in the second chapter on their way to clinching the third seed in Group A with a 2-4 record.
And that meant earning a slot in the Sub-Zone League's best-of-3 Qualification to Semi-Finals, where they will be taking on the no. 2 team of Group B.
Game heroes: Center Elijah Thomas showed the way with 29 points and 18 rebounds, alon with 2 assists and 2 blocks to net an efficiency of 40.
Ahmed Alderazi was also instrumental in the dominant victory, missing only twice in the seven shots he took from beyond the arc to finish with 20 points.
Maitham Isa showed his versatility by finishing with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal, while Hesham Sarhan chipped in 13 points and 6 rebounds as well.
Turning point: Al Bashaer were actually in it early, trailing by jusbthree, 11-14, until Isa and Alderazi joined hands for an 8-0 run to build a 22-11 lead at the end of the first.
But it wasn't until the second chapter where Al Ahli would seize control, never to look back. Alderazi hit another triple, sparking another scoring spree that gave themselves a commanding 44-25 advantage with less than a minute left before the break.
And the game would never be in doubt from then on, with their lead swelling to as big as 29 points, 70-41, following Thomas' split early into the final period.
Stats don't lie: Al Ahli shot a solid 52.4 percent from the field and dominated the boards, 46-33, en route to sending Al Bashaer home winless at 0-6.
They said: "We're qualified now. We're thinking about the play-in of WASL. We know how strong teams are. And let me talk about the five or six games we had. We didn't play well, we lost two or three points, but we are better than this as Coach said. We're getting better. Now we're looking forward to the play-in." - Ahmed Alderazi, Guard, Al Ahli Club
"We came with only eight players. Our roster is not good at this moment. We have many injuries so as a coach, I didn't want to risk any further, that's why we only played with eight. But I'm satisfied." - Dragan Vascanin, Head Coach, Al Bashaer
FIBA