Qatar Basketball

Al Rayyan bag GCC 3x3 basketball title

Al Rayyan Club, led by veteran player Yaseen Ismail Musa, beat Al Sadd Club to win the inaugural GCC 3x3 basketball title, in Manama, Bahrain, on Saturday.

In an all-Qatari final, Musa, Chauncey Leslie, Malek Seleem al Abdulla and Mohammed Seleem al Abdulla all pooled in their efforts to hold off Al Sadd by 22-16.

Bahrain’s Al Manama Club finished third, beating Nazwa of Oman 21-13.

Al Rayyan and Al Sadd, who fielded Erfan Ali Saeed, Daoud Mousa Daoud, Larry Blair and Saad Abdulrahman Ali, performed brilliantly and topped their respective pools to enter the quarter-finals.

Al Rayyan crushed Ohod of Saudi Arabia 21-8, while Al Sadd had also posted a dominant 21-9 victory over Al Nasr of Kuwait before advancing to the semi-finals.

Al Manama and Nazwa crumbled under the pressure by talented Al Sadd and Al Rayyan and lost 16-22 and 13-21, respectively.

This victory completed a grand GCC 3x3 double by Qatar, who had claimed the national teams crown in Muscat, Oman in February.

Musa was thrilled with his team’s victory. “Of course, we won the title, but it was the triumph of the Qatari basketball. Over the years, our basketball has grown solidly and our depth saw both the Qatari teams in the final.

“I’m delighted to have finished on the winning side. It was a great tournament. Other teams were also strong but we managed to keep them off with our aggressive approach.

“Malek, Mohammed and Chauncey all worked very hard, rose to the challenges and handled the important situations with skill and intelligence. Indeed, it was a fine team effort,” added Musa.

Mohammed Seleem al Abdulla commented: “We’re very pleased with this title. We did not have good domestic season this year and the first title for us will go a long way in rebuilding and preparing the team for the next season.”

Qatar Basketball Federation President Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al Thani congratulated  Al Rayyan Club Chairman Sheikh Saoud bin Khalid al Thani on the regional honour and hailed the final between two Qatari teams as the success of the national basketball.

“I wish to congratulate Al Rayyan Club on winning the GCC 3x3 basketball title. It was the first year of the championship and everybody remembers the first winner. Both Al Rayyan and Al Sadd played superbly and showed their caliber by reaching the final despite strong resistance by other teams.

“This is a memorable achievement as Qatar had won the GCC 3x3 national teams championship and now our team has emerged the champion in the GCC clubs 3x3 event,” added Sheikh Saoud.

Results

Pool matches

Ohod (KSA)               13-15   Nuwaidrat (BRN)      A

Al Wehda (KSA)        11-20   Al Manama (BRN)    B

Sadd (QAT)                21-9     Al Hala (BRN)           A

Rayyan (QAT)            21-8     Al Ahli (BRN)           B

Al Jahra (KUW)          19-17   Nizwa (OMA)            A

Al Etefaq (OMA)       11-17   Al Nasr (KUW)         B

Nuwaidrat (BRN)       12-21   Sadd (QAT)               A

Al Manama (BRN)     17-18   Rayyan (QAT)           B

Nizwa (OMA)             13-12   Ohod (KSA)              A

Al Nasr (KUW)          19-11   Al Wehda (KSA)       B

Al Hala (BRN)            14-21   Al Jahra (KUW)         A

Al Ahli (BRN)            13-12   Al Etefaq (OMA)      B

Nizwa (OMA)             21-16   Nuwaidrat (BRN)      A

Al Nasr (KUW)          11-17   Al Manama (BRN)    B

Al Jahra (KUW)          L-W     Sadd (QAT)               A

Al Etefaq (OMA)       10-16   Rayyan (QAT)           B

Ohod (KSA)               18-17   Al Hala (BRN)           A

Al Wehda (KSA)        6-15     Al Ahli (BRN)           B

Nuwaidrat (BRN)       W-L     AL Jahra (KUW)       A

Al Manama (BRN)     14-9     Al Etefaq (OMA)      B

Al Hala (BRN)            12-21   Nizwa (OMA)            A

Al Ahli (BRN)            20-19   Al Nasr (KUW)         B

Sadd (QAT)                21-14   Ohod (KSA)              A

Rayyan (QAT)            18-14   Al Wehda (KSA)       B

Al Hala (BRN)            20-21   Nuwaidrat (BRN)      A

Al Ahli (BRN)            19-21   Al Manama (BRN)    B

Ohod (KSA)               W-L     Al Jahra (KUW)         A

Al Wehda (KSA)        13-14   Al Etefaq (OMA)      B

Nizwa (OMA)             18-21   Sadd (QAT)               A

Al Nasr (KUW)          16-21   Rayyan (QAT)           B

Quarter-finals

Sadd (QAT)    21-9     Al Nasr (KUW)        

Al Manama (BRN)     19-12   Nuwaidrat (BRN)     

Rayyan (QAT)            21-8     Ohod (KSA) 

Nizwa (OMA) 21-14   Al Ahli (BRN)          

Semi-finals

Sadd (QAT)    22-16   Al Manama (BRN)   

Rayyan (QAT)            21-13   Nizwa (OMA)           

3rd place

Al Manama (BRN)     21-16   Nizwa (OMA)           

Final

Sadd (QAT)    16-22   Rayyan (QAT)          

Pool A

Teams                          P          W        L          PS

1Al Sadd (QAT)         5          5          0          84

2Nizwa (OMA)           5          3          2          90

3Nuwaidrat (BRN)     5          3          2          64

4Ohod (KSA)             5          2          3          57

5Al Jahra (KUW)        5          2          3          40

6Al Hala (BRN)          5          0          5          72

Pool B Games

1Rayyan (QAT)          5          5          0          94

2Al Manama (BRN)   5          4          1          89

3Al Ahli (BRN)          5          3          2          75

4Al Nasr (KUW)        5          2          3          82

5Al Etefaq (OMA)     5          1          4          56

6Al Wehda (KSA)      5          0          5          55

Keys: P played, W won, L lost, PS points scored