Al Rayyan, Al Sadd draw first blood

DOHA: Defending champions Al Rayyan and Al Sadd moved a step closer to the final of the 2015-16 Qatar League after winning the first game of their best-of-three semifinals at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall on Tuesday.

Rayyan, the most successful Qatari team with 16 league titles to their name so far, left it late to earn a hard-fought 69-67 win over El Jaish. Meanwhile, Al Sadd got the better of Al Gharafa 73-66 in another tense match.

American pointguard Davon James proved to be Rayyan’s best player, with 24 points, while Tanguy Ngombo aided him with a useful 20 points. At the other end, Vernon Leon Macklin (26) and Mohammed Yousef Mohammed (17) fought a valiant battle for the army men.

Al Gharafa, league champions in 2014, found the going tough against 2013 winners Al Sadd. The Wolves led 20-19 after the first quarter, but Gharafa came back strongly in the second (38-30). Sadd gained back the initiative by the third quarter (53-50) and held on to take the win.

Raffa Anthony (28pts) was Al Sadd’s most prolific scorer while Emmanuel Adako (25) did well for Al Gharafa.

The second match of the best-of-three semifinal will be played on February 20 while the third game, if necessary, will take place on 24th.

The best-of-three finals are scheduled for February 27, March 1 and 4 respectively. All matches will be played at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall.