JEDDAH, 11 May 2007 — The 20th Arab Basketball Championship started yesterday at the Prince Abdullah Al Fasial sports complex in Jeddah. In first game action Raja’a from Morocco jumped out to an early lead against Ittihad from Syria on the way to a 76-66 victory.
Four fast breaks and two three-point shots had Morocco up 12 points in the first quarter. Syria fought back and cut the lead to 7 points by the end of the period 25-18. Morocco passed well and got some inside baskets during the second period. They built up an 18-point lead, but lost some ground and finished the half with a nine-point lead 42 to 33. After three quarters Syria was down 13 points 58 to 45. Syria fought well and pulled within six points with two minuets left in the game but was outclassed down the stretch. Kalifa Mustafah was the high man for Morocco with 24 points, and Aumsa Adnan had 21. For Syria, Kevin Lawejolly scored 23 points.
Game 2 was a blowout for Al-Kuwait from Kuwait over Al Maktabah from Sudan 107-53. Kuwait had six players in double figures with Usama Farhan Mubark leading all scorers with 23. American Shamgod, the former Ittihad standout, only played 27 minutes and had 10 points, 5 steals and 5 assists. Kuwait shot 63% against Sudan’s 41%. Sudan had 22 turnovers. Their high man was William Mills with 21.
Al-Ahli, one of two teams from the Kingdom, started slow in the third game and was down seven points in the first. They evened the score and went up by the end of the period 23 -18. At the half Ahli led by 14 points 50 -36. Yemen battled hard and cut the lead to six by the end of the third, 66-60. Yemen was playing with only one import player, backed up by a young team and was outclassed by Ahli. The final score was 86 -76 for Ahli. Ahli’s high man was Jamil Lemont Austin with 29. For Yemen, Tardik Okee had 22.
