JEDDAH, 2 May 2007 — Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad guaranteed their spot in the semifinals by winning their first two games in the 27th GCC Clubs Basketball Championship.
Top teams from around the Gulf are seeing action in regional tournament, which started Saturday at the Juffair Youth Center in Bahrain.
Bahrain’s league champions Al-Ahli and runners-up Manama are taking part in this event along with six other teams from the other five GCC countries.
The eight teams are split into two groups of four each. Ahli are in a tough Group ‘A’ along with three-time defending champions Al- Qadisiya of Kuwait, Saudi powerhouse Ittihad and a solid Al-Wasl of the UAE.
Manama have a relatively easier task in Group ‘B’ which includes Kuwait’s second representatives Kuwait Club, Qatar’s Al Rayyan and Oman champions Nazwa.
The first round matches will be played on round robin basis with the winners and runners-up in each group qualifying for the semifinals scheduled for tomorrow.
Al Ittihad edged out Ahli from Bahrain 67-66 in a Group A match on Saturday. Bahrain’s Al Ahli brought some cheer to Bahrain fans by taking the Saudi side the full distance.
Ahli, however, made two costly errors in the closing seconds to lose a thriller. Coached by Fredrick Femi of Nigeria, Ahli went into the match with a lot of confidence having won the Bahrain league title defeating Manama in a best-of-three final just last week. Jamal Holden of the US was Ahli’s top player. He had 11 first quarter points, while Saudi professional Waleed Al-Madani grabbed several defensive rebounds, which gave the Bahrainis a 22-20 lead. Ittihad, who have won this tournament five times, bounced back in the second quarter, which ended with them leading 45-40.
Jaber Al-Kabi and Adel Al-Juhani stole the limelight in this quarter with seven points each while their 7-foot-3 US giant Priest Lauderdale made some great plays under both boards and managed five points.
Ahli made a weak start in the second quarter and failed to score for more than five minutes. But the home side made up for it later in the quarter and cut the deficit to five points as Ahmed Mirza, who is on loan from Bahrain’s Al-Hala Club, made good with some useful baskets.
Two three-pointers from veteran player Ahmed Malalla and further contributions from playmaker Hussain Shaker and Holden secured Ahli a 57-53 lead by the end of the third quarter. Ahli led most of the fourth and final quarter but committed some defensive errors, which helped Al Ittihad level the score at 66-66 with less than a minute remaining.
Ahli had a precious opportunity to seal a deserving victory when they had possession, but they lost the ball to the Saudis who made a counter attack through Jaber Al-Kabi. To compound matters Jaber was fouled. He missed the first free throw but made the second to make it 67-66. Time ran out giving Ittihad their first win.
Ittihad recorded their second win Sunday beating titleholders Qadisiya 96-90 securing their place in the semifinals.
