Has Muharraq found the right pieces to go deep? Coach thinks so

DOHA (Qatar) - Muharraq head coach Ahmed Jan is sold that the team now has the right pieces that could bring them deep into the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Season 2.

The champion bench tactician has grown that optimistic after the Bahraini club acquired the services of established veterans Austin Daye and Ra'Shad James just recently.

"We are very confident that we can reach further stages of this tournament," he offered.

Aside from their pedigree, that confidence stems from the way both players delivered in Muharraq's 79-65 road win over Al Rayyan at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall on Tuesday night, which also marked their second victory in a row to go 2-1 in Group A of the Gulf League.

Once a part of the USA team that competed in the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 Qualifiers, James top-scored in the victory with 20 points and 7 rebounds, along with a pair of steals.

The 33-year-old guard is no stranger to FIBA club competitions as well, having played in the Basketball Champions League in 2019 with Telekom Baskets Bonn before taking his talents to the Basketball Africa League inaugurals two years later, where he suited up for A.S. Sale.

On the other hand, Daye supplied 13 points and 8 rebounds in nearly 23 minutes off the bench, doing all that despite being under the weather, which made his coach all the more proud.

Coming off a stint with the New Taipei Kings, the former Detroit Piston signed with the team just last week, making his way back to Bahrain after seven years. He played for Manama back in 2016.

"Although Austin is next to me, he has the flu, but he had a tremendous game with 13 points. Ra'Shad had 20 points. These are great contributions from them," said Jan during the postgame presser.

The veteran mentor believes, too, that Daye and James could very well complement Tyler Wilkerson, who has been their leading scorer in the tournament. After averaging 27.5 points in their first two games, he finished with 19 in their win over Al Rayyan.

"Having Austin and Ra'Shad besides Tyler Wilkerson would be a great fit," Jan said. ""Hopefully, over time, our chemistry will become better for us to win games."

Now, Muharraq has their fingers crossed that no problems whatsoever will arise, as they all believe that this is the team that could achieve the success they hope for in the FIBA WASL.

"This is the final roster," Jan said. "We never know if there's any unforeseen circumstance. We are going to make [decisions based on] the best interest of the team and the players."

FIBA