TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Last night, the final night of Week 1 of the 2023/2024 Zain Bahrain Basketball League saw defending champions Manama and Nuweidrat achieve a contrasting victory.
Manama defeated Samahij 99-54, while Nuweidrat overwhelmed powerhouse Al Ahly 88-79. In Manama’s victory, Samahij played without foreign professional players and led from start to finish, making full use of his talent and physical advantage.
They increased their lead to 24-17 after the first inning and 52-27 at the half and never looked back. Manama enjoyed a lead as big as the final 45-point difference. For Manama, Sir Dominic Pointer scored 16 points, Ali Jaber added 12 points and Travin Thibodeau added 10 points.
Basel Adel paced Samahage with 14 points and Ahmed Adel Abbas with 11 points. On the other hand, Nuwidrat got off to a winning start to the new season with an upset of perennial title contender Ahri. After trailing 46-48 at the half, Nuydrat rallied in the final two quarters and built a double-digit lead late in the game.
Ahly roared back and was able to pull within 77-80 with just over two minutes left, but then Sameen Swint hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Nuwidrat some cushion and effectively end the game.
Lamar Mallory led the way for the victors with 37 points and 11 rebounds, while Swint added 18 points and Abbas Jameel added 13 points. Patrick McGlynn added 26 points and Subah Hussein added 14 points for Ahly.