Crowd-fueled rally propel Al Wahda past Al Shorta for winning debut
DAMASCUS (Syria) - Al Wahda made sure to reward the 8,000 fans that filled up the venue by pulling off a come-from-behind win over Al Shorta for a successful FIBA WASL debut on Thursday.
DAMASCUS (Syria) - Al Wahda came from behind and beat Al Shorta, 74-70, to emerge triumphant in a battle of FIBA WASL debutants Thursday night at the Al Fahyaa Stadium.
Jomaru Brown and Majd Arbasha showed nerves of steel in the endgame, draining the all-important free throws in separate trips to the foul line inside the last 44.6 seconds of the game to complete the comeback after facing a 59-50 deficit early in the fourth quarter.
Now, the reigning Syrian Basketball League champions have taken the provisional solo lead in Group B of the West Asia League following the win witnessed by 8,000 fans in attendance.
View this post on Instagram
Game heroes: Brown led Al Wahda with a game-high 34 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter alone, to spearhead the fightback. He also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in 38 minutes.
Abdulwahab Alhamwi had 15 points and 12 rebounds with 3 blocks, while Arbasha finished with his own double-double if 10 points and 10 rebounds with 5 assists in the triumph.
STEP AHEAD Player of the Game: Brown deservingly earned Step Ahead Player of the Game honors for his efforts in leading the home team back into the game, wherein they trailed for the most part before slowly crawling back during the second half.
Turning point: The visiting team appeared to have retaken control of the game when Delwan Graham put them up, 70-69, following a perfect trip to the stripe with 58.8 seconds left.
Brown, however, got fouled on the other end and made sure to maximize the opportunity, calmly sinking both of his charities to give them the lead for good, 71–70.
A Lamont Jones miss made things tougher for Al Shorta, and Brown made him regret it as much when he perfected another pair of shots from the foul line to push their lead to two.
The Iraqi side tried to take the lead back, but Ali Ismael missed his attempt from deep, and Arbasha was there to collar the rebound. Arbasha would also be responsible for making it a two-possession lead following a split from the line with 6.5 ticks left, and the game would be all but settled then.
Stats don't lie: Al Wahda had the slight edge on rebounds (57-48) and had better ball movement, as evidenced by their 25 assists. They also ran the floor better, scoring 20 off fast-break opportunities.
FIBA