Manama a step closer from Gulf League Final return with win over Muharraq

MANAMA (Bahrain) - A chance to rewrite their story beckons for Manama.

The reigning FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) champions moved a win away from returning to the Gulf League Final following an 86-78 victory over Muharraq in Game 1 of their sub-zone Semis series, Monday night at the Khalifa Sport City in Isa Town.

They have a chance to close it out in Game 2 in the same venue, which, if they do, would give them another shot at the Gulf title after being swept by Kuwait Club in the inaugurals. Game 2 of the best-of-3 affair is set next Monday, April 1, at 22:00 local time.

Game heroes: Ahmed Haji top-scored for Manama with 21 points on an excellent 72.7-percent from the field, including a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc.

Sir'Dom Pointer flirted with a triple-double as he registered 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists, together with 2 steals and a game-high 5 blocks. The seasoned forward netted an efficiency of 40 on the way to earning STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors.

Travin Thibodeaux supplied 16 points and 7 rebounds plus a pair of assists, while the returning Devin Ebanks chipped in 11 points and 8 rebounds in the triumph.

Turning point: Manama jumped to a 20-7 start and they would remain in the driver's seat for the rest of the night. They even led by as many as 16 points twice in the game, but the win was by no means easy for the charges of Coach Linos Gavriel.

They already held a 14-point advantage with under five minutes to go but Muharraq put together an 8-0 run - capped by a Ricky Ledo three-point play of an Ebanks foul -- to knock within just six, 83-77, with only 1:59 remaining in the game.

But Muharraq could no longer chop the deficit any further, with Tyler Wilkerson and Ledo failing to find the mark after leading the aforementioned run. Pointer would go on to seal the deal following a perfect trip to the foul line with 23 seconds left.

Stats don't lie: It was the first time in his FIBA WASL stint that Pointer had a 40 EFF. He is now leading Manama in EFF with an average of 26.7 after Monday night's game.

They said: "I want to congratulate my players for getting 1-0. It's important to get a win against a very good opponent. I also congratulate Muharraq for the effort. We definitely started strong, everything started from defense, following the game plan. In the second half, we lost a little but our minds. We lost the next two quarters. Still, for 39 minutes, we were leading, Muharraq didn't manage to lead in any point of the game." - Linos Gavriel, Head Coach, Manama

"That's how I play. I know I'm an unselfish player. And my teammates, they make shots. Without them I wouldn't even be close to a triple-double. So, they make shots, they space the floor for me to play my game. Having shooters around me makes my job easier." - Sir'Dom Pointer, Manama

"We've won a few games, I think maybe three or four games, from having big deficits, [we post] comeback wins in the fourth quarter. We're used to that. This team is a team that can play through adversity. We were making a good run, we just missed a couple of shots. Through out the game, we missed a bunch of open looks, like good looks ... shots that we normally. We just gotta get back in the lab, man." - Tyler Wilkerson, Muharraq

FIBA