MANAMA (Bahrain) - Heroes were aplenty as Manama outlasted Al Ahli in an overtime thriller, 100-97, to force their 2024/2025 FIBA WASL-Gulf League Qualification to Semi-Finals series to a deciding Game 3, Monday night at the BBA Arena.
Mohamed Kowaid and Ahmed Haji nailed the crucial buckets from a 95-all tie in the final two minutes, and an air-balled corner trey by Ali Hasan on the other end before the buzzer were all enough for the crew to escape with season-saving victory.
Those clutch shots, furthermore, preserved not only their campaign but the heavy lifting done by Tony Carr on offense that saw the league veteran once again assume his role as the squad's go-to guy, most especially when the going gets tough.
Now, the best-of-3 affair is headed into the knockout match set March 3 still in the same venue at 22:00 local time, giving both squads ample time to prepare for what should be another down-the-wire clash - and in front of another packed crowd.
Game heroes: Carr top-scored for Manama with 41 big points, 15 of which he produced in the fourth quarter alone as he willed his side back into the game after seeing themselves trail by six, 73-67, early in the said period.
He shot 54.1-percent from the field and went an excellent 12-of-14 from the free throw line, none more important than the pressure-packed pair he coolly sank with 9.8 seconds left to eventually send the game into an extra five minutes.
The former Gulf League champion with Kuwait Club flirted with a triple-double as well, as he collected 9 rebounds and 8 assists to net an efficiency of 44.
Haji, on the other hand, delivered 20 points on an excellent 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 clip from beyond the arc.
Another WASL veteran in Clint Chapman was also key in OT and went on to finish with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Subah Azzam chipped in 10 points.
Turning point: Manama appeared to have Game 2 in the bag when they built an 86-81 lead with 2:05 to go in regulation only for Ahmed Alderazi and Hesham Serhan to pull Al Ahli ahead, 89-87, until Carr made his game-tying free throws to force OT.
It was also Alderazi who gave his team the 94-91 lead with 3:17 remaining in the fixture, but Chapman responded with a triple of his own to tie the game anew.
Haji and Ali Hassan exchanged splits from the charity stripe afterward but then, luck sided with Manama when Kowaid drilled the back-breaking trifecta - off a Carr assist - from the corner for the 98-95 advantage with only 1:35 on the clock.
The door would then begin to close slowly for Al Ahli. Vance Jackson cut the gap to a solitary point but that proved to be their last hurrah as Haji went on to sink both of his freebies with 10.9 seconds left for the eventual scoreline.
And as the final buzzer sounded, all of Manama heaved a sigh of relied and embraced one another after seeing all their effort keep their season very much alive.
Stats don't lie: Carr was just six points shy of eclipsing the FIBA WASL single-game scoring record of 46 set by Edgar Sosa back in March 9, 2023 in his Al Naft's loss to Al Riyadi in a West Asia League Group Phase encounter in the inaugural season.
His scoring outburst, furthermore, enabled Manama to win another Game 2 of the Gulf League Qualification to Semi-Finals, having done the same in the first season against Kazma where they went on to complete the reverse sweep from down 0-1.
They said: "We showed character, we showed who Manama is. We showed big heart out there, big shots. Very proud of the guys. But it's just 1-1. We need one more win to qualify. We'll take a small break for the national team to recharge ourselves and come back stronger to get the win and qualify for the next round." - Alexandros Lekisvili, Lead Assistant Coach, Manama
"It was a good win. I put myself in position to play well by taking the shots. Coach put me in a position to play well by putting me in situations where I can succeed. I had a good night tonight." - Tony Carr, Guard, Manama
"It was a great game to watch. It was an amazing atmosphere here. On our side, the game was decided by just a couple of possessions so I told the same thing to my guys in the locker room. I'm proud of them. It was tough when you lose these types of games because we fought amazingly but at the same time, it's part of basketball. We need to start this series at 0-0 so we're gonna focus that way." - Andac Yapicier, Head Coach, Al Ahli Club
"I believe that we were offensively on point. But our issue was defense, hence, the fact that Manama scored a hundred points. We lacked defense. And that was the main reason why we fell short, despite the lead in the fourth quarter." - Hesham Sarhan, Guard, Al Ahli Club
FIBA