Al Riyadi buck slow start, rout Manama in rousing Final 8 debut

DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Al Riyadi bucked a tepid start to beat Manama, 112-84, for a rousing start to their West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 campaign, Saturday night at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.

The inaugural WASL-West Asia champions overcame an early seven-point deficit and exploded for 34 points in the second quarter for a 55-39 halftime lead, and they'd stay ahead the rest of the way much to the delight of the partisan crowd.

Al Riyadi (1-0) will have the chance to secure the Group A top seed and a Semi-Final ticket with a win against inter-city rivals Beirut Club on 12 June.

Game heroes: A total of six players finished in double figures in the conquest, with Duop Reath bannering the offense with a game-high 22 points and 6 rebounds.

Kevin Murphy and Bosnian center Elmedin Kikanovic finished with 19 points apiece. The two combined for 20 points in the second period to lead the breakaway, with Murphy producing much of the load with 12 in that heater run.

Wael Arakji made 15 points and 7 assists. Amir Saoud and Karim Zeinoun chipped in 12 markers each, with the former adding 9 assists to his name.

Turning point: Al Riyadi were trailing by five early in the second period but Kikanovic began chopping down the deficit, and Ali Mansour would rock the venue following a three-point play to finally give themselves the lead, 28-26, with 8:10 to go.

Stats don't lie:  Al Riyadi shot an excellent 63.2-percent from the field, thanks hugely to the way they rotated the ball that led to 27 team assists.

They said: "I'm glad we started this big event with a win. This is what we're trying to do from the beginning. Looking forward to the second game. Manama, all due respect for them, they fought, they tried their best. It was our first game in two weeks coming from the Lebanese championship, I think this is why we looked rusty in the beginning. After that, we caught our rhythm slowly." - Ahmad Farran, Head Coach, Al RIyadi

"It was a nice game. All respect to Bahrain basketball represented by Manama. Very nice atmosphere. I want to thank all the Lebanese fans that came and supported us today. Most importantly, we're able to get the win. Hopefully, we can keep up this rhythm. We have a very important game coming up in two days against a very well-respected team in Beirut. It's gonna be a Lebanese derby, so it won't be an easy game." - Wael Arakji, Al Riyadi

"We started the game really well. We were leading but unfortunately, in the second quarter, things started to go to Riyadi's side. We didn't perform the way we usually perform as a team -- staying consistent on defense, and executing on offense the way we're supposed to execute." - Linos Gavriel, Head Coach, Manama

FIBA