JEDDAH, 7 April 2007 — Al-Ahli outclassed Al-Hilal 90-72 as the Saudi Basketball Federation Al-Jawal playoffs resumed Thursday night at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. Top six teams are in the fray.
Hilal, in the first quarter, dominated Ahli with strong inside plays by Steven Howard and Prentice McGruder, taking the 23-15 lead at the end of the game.
At halftime, Hilal were leading 43-36, but Ahli regrouped and came back with a different plan in the second half. Yassar Mutar and new player Gerard Merrill combined for 22 points in the third quarter taking the lead 67-43.
Ahli double-teamed Howard and played tight defense to turn the game around. The fourth period was a battle with the referees making calls against Hilal and keeping them from getting back in the game. There were many questionable calls at the end of the game and it got rough. Ahli pulled it off winning 90-72.
Gerard Merrill was Ahli’s topscorer with 27 points. Jared Bledsoe added 22, and Yassar Mutar 11. For Hilal, Steven Howard had 24, and Prentice McGruder 21 points.
In the second playoff, Qadisiya and Ohud tied 21-21 at the end of the first quarter. Qadisiya’s Ried Edris went down in the first play and was out with an injured knee. The battle was on at halftime in which Ohud had a one point lead, 45-44.
Both teams were playing with determination, but Qadisiya’s coach Ali Sanhani kept rotating his players while double-teaming Calvin Cage — Ohud’s point guard. But that didn’t make any difference as Ohud still had two points lead and finished the third quarter at 67-65.
The fourth was all fireworks back and forth. With two minutes left, Qadisiya went up by five points. Abdul Mohsen for Ohud hit a three.
After an intentional foul call Abdul Mohsen tied the game at 80-80. With 9 seconds to play, Abdul Mohsen gave Ohud a one-point lead 86- 85. At this point, with 5 ticks on the clock, Qadisiya’s James Terrance dribbled the length of the court and fired a three-pointer that went in with no time left on the clock giving Qadisiya a stunning 88-86 win.
Antoine Brocksey led Qadisiya with 19 points followed by James Terrance with the buzzer-beater included in the 17 points. Ahmed Samenter added 15. For Ohud, Calvin Cage hit 26 points and had 7 assist, their new center Ismail Samaka and Abdul Mohsen both scoring 20 points and Hassen Zowad adding 14.
