Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai get back on track with beatdown of Al Shamal

DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai got back on track following a wire-to-wire win over the luckless Al Shamal at home, 110-81, in the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Season 2, Tuesday night at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.

Nick Minnerath and Chavaughn Lewis took turns in steering their side to a 36-22 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, setting the tone for the one-sided affair that ultimately enabled the Emirati ball club to bounce back from that 73-67 loss to Manama the last time out.

Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai improved to 3-1 and remained at no. 2 in Group B of the Gulf League after keeping their Qatari counterparts winless in four games now.

Game heroes: Six players finished in double figures in the dominant victory, with Lewis leading the way with a game-high 34 points in 21 minutes on an excellent 70-percent shooting clip, alongside 6 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal, and a block each on the way to tallying a 38 efficiency (EFF).

Minnerath finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds to deliver yet another double-double performance, together with 4 assists, a pair of steals, and a block.

Qais Omar Alshabebi, Assane Boye, and Hamed Lateef all had 12 points apiece, while Talal Salem Alnuaimi chipped in 10 in the win that saw the team shoot 52.8-percent from the field.

STEP AHEAD Player of the Game: Lewis deservingly earned STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors for submitting his best scoring performance to date this season.

Turning point: Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai were clinging to a slim three-point lead minutes into the game until Alshabebi sparked a 9-0 run towards a 17-5 lead with under six minutes to go.

Stats don't lie: Alshabebi is the latest to reach a personal milestone as the veteran big man became the second non-foreign player in FIBA WASL to collect 100 rebounds after Mo Alsuwailem of Al Hilal from Season 1. Alshabebi now has 107 rebounds to his name.

They said: "The game against Manama was a very close game. Unfortunately we lost. However, we came back today especially we're playing at home against Shamal. The team played with responsibility. The team played very well." - Oualid Zrida, Head Coach, Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai

"We lost against Manama but as  a whole I felt like we should've won the game. Obviously it's a loss on the scoreboard, but we felt like we won the game, we just completely let it slip. But every game is important for us. We have our own Dubai league where basically every game is a do-or-die for us because of the way the schedule is set up for the playoffs. So, I mean, if we lose a game we don't think about it more than a day. We think about the next game because for us, every game is a do-or-die." - Nick Minnerath, Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai

"I just wanted to come out and give my team everything I have. We came off a loss at home. We never like to lose at home so we wanted to come back and make a statement today. I got into early foul trouble and I just wanted to come out with energy and that's what I did. My team, we executed, we played good defense, and we won the game." - Chavaughn Lewis, Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai

"What I hope for is just our team to play with more chemistry, with more poise. And just to play with more heart. Because sometimes, where we go into second quarters, you can see that our heart's our there - we're playing hard, we're going up and down the floor, playing defense. Sometimes it kinda goes down. If we can play with it consistently for 40 minutes I think it would be great for us." - Shane Osayande, Al Shamal

FIBA