JEDDAH, 10 December 2004 — In a sea of yellow and black Al-Ittihad celebrated their second sporting success in little over a week when they won the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Basketball Championship here.
After their football team clinched the Asian Champions League crown in Korea on Dec. 1 Ittihad yesterday brought down fighting Al-Ahli 108-94 in the final of the first major basketball event of the season at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.
The victory in front of thousands of the cheering fans extended Ittihad’s run of titles in the tournament which the Jeddah-based club also won almost uninterrupted in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003.
At the end of the match, Prince Talal ibn Badr, president of the Saudi Basketball Federation, awarded Ittihad with the trophy.
For Ahli the loss marked a 0-for-three appearance in the final.
Experience in pressure-cooker situations came in handy for Ittihad as they put down the challenge posed by Ahli in the fourth quarter.
Led by star player Ali Al-Mughrabi, Ittihad shattered Ahli’s hopes of winning their first championship with an impressive display of quality basketball.
The match was played at high level and arguably the best in years as the two city rivals met for the first time in the final. The game was fast and furious with Ittihad taking the first quarter 25-21. Ahli mounted a rally in the second quarter where Mahmoud Al-Tuwal asserted his superiority inside the paint.
Though Ahli tried to hold their own there was no stopping Ittihad which led by as many as 17 points as Adel Al Juhani sprayed three-pointers almost at will in the third period.
Ahli’s defense was disorganized. Ahli, however, took advantage of the ejection of Ittihad’s American player Stephen Haward for a fighting against Othman Obaied of Ahli.
Ahli’s effort to come back in the fourth quarter was met by strong and well-organized Ittihad defense.
