Qatar Basketball

Al Rayyan, Al Sadd take Semis Game 1

Erfan Saeed saw action in the third period but came out blazing with a 15-point production in 12 minutes he was in the ballgame to pull Al Rayyan out from a 38-39 deficit to an 87-79 rousing victory over defending champions Al Gharafa in the first game of their best-of-five semifinal series in the Emir Cup last night .

Saeed, who missed out the first two periods, was fielded in after the halftime break and combined with the returning Targuy Ngombo and Yaseen Mousa to overwhelm their rivals on the offensive end, 25-12, and thereby  gain the upperhand before the final period at 63-51.

Al Gharafa was looking good in the early going with Omar Salem waxing hot to give his team a 24-23 advantage in the first quarter and stay on top at the end of the second. Salem’s sterling 12-point, 3-rebound first half production eclipsed the return to action of Al Rayyan’s ace gunner Targuy Ngombo, who himself led his team’s stand with 13 points and 3 assists in the first 20 minutes of the game.

But fortunes switched as Saeed entered the game, as Coach Brian Rowsom allowed his prolific triumvirate to dictate the tempo of the game and silence the guns of their counterparts  in the remainder of the match.

Ngombo topscored for Al Rayyan, De Von Hardin added 13 and Mousa had 12. Salem finished with 15 for Al Gharafa, managing a solitary trey  in the second half, akin to the rest of his team’s shooting average in the final 20 minutes of the game.

In the other semifinals match, Daoud Mousa hit back-to-back triples with under three minutes left in the game and Al Arabi ahead, 63-62, before Michael  Southall capped his game-long dominance with a put back and a slam that helped Al Sadd escape with a 72-65 thriller against the Heir Apparent champions.

Al Arabi took an early lead, 15-4 and held on to a 22-13 first quarter advantage as Coach Hatem Mamlouk’s wards limited Southall’s touches on the basketball.

Doaud and Khalid Suliman sparked a 16-0 run in the second period to give Al Sadd the upper hand, 29-22 en route to a 37-31 lead before the halftime break.

Al Arabi, outrun and outdone in the paint in the first two periods took it strong in the inside at the onset of the third period to inch closer 42-43 behind Alvin Mofunanya who sparked his team to an 11-6 blitz.

With Jason Fontenet taking command at the point Al Sadd kept their composure and held on to their lead, 55-52 before the start of the final period.

Al Arabi grabbed the lead back and seemed on their way to snatch the win six minutes into the last quarter as Mofunanya and William Byrd dominated the paint with Southall nursing his fourth foul until Daoud save the day for Al Sadd.