TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain’s Muharraq Club last night claimed a patient 74-64 victory over Qatar’s Qatar Sports Club in the 35th Arab Club Basketball Championship currently being held in Doha.
The match was the third for both sides in Group A of the qualifying stage and was Bahrain’s second consecutive win.
Muharraq is Saudi Arabia’s only representative in the tournament, which features the top 18 teams from across the region.
As for yesterday’s results, they lost in the opening match to the defending champions Kuwait Sports Club, but then won a big victory over Palestine’s Braiji Services.
Muharraq finished second in the division and advanced to the round of 16, where they will face Dinamo Lebanon of Lebanon.
The tournament’s 18-team field will be divided into four groups for qualifying.
After one round robin, the top four players from each will advance to the next phase, and the matchups will be based on seeding. Today is a day off, and excretion will start tomorrow.
The quarter-finals will then be held on Monday, the semi-finals on Wednesday and the gold and bronze medal matches next Thursday.
In last night’s matchup, Qatar came out of the gate on the offensive end and took a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Muharraq picked things up in the second and had a narrow 34-33 lead at the break.
Bahrain continued to play strong after the restart, increasing their lead to 60-53 after three games and maintaining their lead in the final canto to secure a 10-point victory.
The tournament will be held under the auspices of the Arab Basketball Federation.
Group B will feature Egypt’s Al Ittihad Alexandria, Algeria’s Union Sportive Medina d’Arje, Qatar’s Al Ahli Doha, Oman’s Seeb and Lebanon’s Dinamo.
Group C includes Yemen’s Sanaa, Morocco’s AS Saleh, Kuwait’s Al-Qadsiyah and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Fateh.
Group D consists of Libya’s Al Ittihad, Egypt’s Al Ahly, Iraq’s Dizira University, Morocco’s MTB Majid Tanja, and Lebanon’s Beirut First Club.
In the last Arab Club Championship held last year, Bahrain’s Al Ahly Club represented the kingdom.
Kuwait defeated Egypt’s Ahly by one point in the final, clinching the championship. The Bahrain team has yet to win the tournament title.
