Qatar Basketball

Al Gharafa knock mighty El Jaish out of Qatar Cup

Al Rayyan Club cruise into semi-finals - Last year’s runners-up Al Gharafa Club took advantage of an early revenge opportunity and power forward Sammy Monroe Jr led them to a superb comeback 91-85 victory over QBF League champions El Jaish with a marvelous triple-double in the Qatar Cup Basketball Championship on Wednesday.

With this triumph, Al Gharafa not only qualified for the semi-finals against Qatar Sports Club on March 26, they also ended a rich 21-match winning streak of the army team as well.

In another match, defending champions Al Rayyan Club brushed aside Al Wakrah Club’s resistance, cruising to a 78-62 victory in another quarter-final match. Next, they will take on Al Arabi for a place in the final.

At the Al Rayyan Club Indoor Hall, Al Gharafa, who finished second to El Jaish in the League after having lost both their matches, trailed as many as by 17 points in the second quarter (27-44). And their defeat loomed large.

However, a pulsating recovery was launched by bench players Nedim Muslic and Malek Seleem Abdulla in the closing stages of the second quarter, which saw El Jaish still with a healthy advantage 45-31).

Then Al Gharafa produced a 12-0 run in the beginning of the third 10-minute play, with all the five starting players chipping in, and they came within two points to drawing level (43-45).

After that there was tight battle between the two for the decisive lead. Point guard Mansour Atif Elhadary hit a jumper to put El Jaish ahead 54-53) with 2:14 left. Monroe responded it with a trey and after that, Al Gharafa gradually started to gain control of the proceedings with a 30-12 scoring edge.

With four points ahead at the start of the fourth quarter, Al Gharafa Club point guards Abdulrahman Mohamed, Michael Taylor and Monroe kept sinking their shots. Within four minutes, they pulled clear by 10 points twice. The lead was later widened to 12 points with 1:41 remained in the clock.

Under pressure, El Jaish attempted hard to cut down the gap. Sadly, it was not their day and Al Gharafa ended victors by six points.

For Al Gharafa, all the first five players scored in double digits. Monroe led with 21. He also collected 23 rebounds and produced 10 assists. Taylor added 18, shooting guard Hassino Ndoye landed 15, while centre Omar Abdelkader Salem had 11.

Centre Vernon Leon Macklin was the highest scorer for El Jaish. His double-double had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Small forward Erfan Ali Saeed contributed 19. So did point guard Dominic James Davon and swingman Mohd Yousuf Mohammed grabbed 12 rebounds and got six points.

Al Rayyan Club and Al Wakrah Club battled each other and were locked on four occasions in the opening quarter. But a dunk by centre Marcus Bell sent them four points clear at the end (17-13). Then Al Rayyan Club consolidated themselves, getting a fine 26-9 scoring edge in the second 10 minutes play.

In the post-interval period, Al Wakrah Club tried to regain the ground through forward Olatunbo Ayeni and point guard Larry Blair II but it was too much to ask for.

Veteran forward Tanguy Ngombo posted 21 points for Al Rayyan Club, who were ahead by 24 points at one stage (46-22). Shooting guard Mohamed Hassan Mohamed and new point guard Addison Spruill added 16 each. Bell recorded a double-double (10 points and 20 rebounds).

For Al Wakrah, Ayeni top-scored with 27 points, along with 17 rebounds. Blair netted 18 points.

Results
Al Gharafa Club beat El Jaish 91-85 (halftime 31-45)
Main performers – Al Gharafa Club: Sammy Monroe Jr 21 pts, 23 rebounds and 10 assists, Michael Taylor 18 pts, Hassino Ndoye 15 pts, Omar Abdelkader Salem 11 pts
El Jaish: Vernon Leon Macklin 21 pts & 12 rebounds, Erfan Ali Saeed 19 pts, Dominic James Davon 19 pts, Mohd Yousuf Mohammed 6 pts & 12 rebounds

Al Rayyan Club beat Al Wakrah Club 78-62 (halftime 43-22)
Main performers – Al Rayyan Club: Tanguy Ngombo 21 pts, Mohamed Hassan Mohamed 16 pts, Addison Spruill 16 pts, Marcus Bell 10 pts & 20 rebounds
Al Wakrah Club: Olatunbo Ayeni 27 pts & 17 rebounds, Larry Blair II 18 pts

Next fixtures (March 26)
At Al Rayyan Club Hall
5:00 pm – Qatar SC vs Al Gharafa Club
7:00 pm – Al Arabi Club vs Al Rayyan Club

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Raajiv Tripathi
Sports Editor
Qatar Tribune,

El Jaish clinch QBF League

The army team stays unbeaten, gift the trophy to their basketball head Obaidly on his birthday
Forward Vernon Leon Macklin collected a rich haul of 38 points and fired El Jaish to translate their determination to present their long-serving basketball head Mohammed al Obaidly with the QBF League crown as the birthday gift at the Al Gharafa Club Indoor Hall on Friday.
In the last game of the League, the army fended off a gritty Al Gharafa Club 74-65 after trailing by seven points at one stage. This was their 18th victory in a row this season. And if their three matches that they won en route to the Emir’s Cup last season are added, the streak goes to 21 successive games!
With this result, El Jaish ended their eight-year-long wait for the League title. In the 2007-08 season, they had claimed their only crown. Al Gharafa also bagged the League once in 2013-14.
El Jaish’s win also added to personal glory of their point guard Dominic James Davon. He was a member of the Al Rayyan Club, whose two out of 17 titles had come in the past two seasons.
QBF President Ahmed Abdulrahman al Muftah and Secretary-General Ali al Malki were present with other federation officials and honoured the winners and runners-up teams. Al Arabi Club finished in the third place.
American 208-cm forward Macklin had 14 out of 19 shots in, besides using all the 10 free offers from the charity stripe. Point guards Dominic (13 points and eight rebounds, captain Fadi Hani Abilmona (13 points, eight rebounds and four assists) and Mandout Atif Elhadary exchanged their roles well to keep the team rolling along during tough moments.
The trio also got commendable support from centre Mohammed Yousuf Mohammed and shooting forward Erfan Ali Saeed. The pair, along with Macklin, piled pressure on the Al Gharafa Club players, especially their key player power forward Sammy Monroe Jr, after the interval. The move by coach Hatem Mamlouk paid well and El Jaish were able to shake off the rivals whenever the latter threatened them.
El Jaish began with a flourish and produced a 9-0 run in the opening quarter. But later, they tried to deploy three small men – Dominic, Abilmona and Elhadary. Besides, they resorted to outside shooting more than making attempts to drive the ball in. This ploy favoured Al Gharafa, who had a 7-0 sequence that got them to 9-12, pulled seven points clear 37-30).
But a change in tactics by Mamlouk again by pressing in three tall players – Macklin, Saeed and Mohammed, El Jaish managed to stall the opponents. El Jaish, who had traded the lead with five times earlier, utilised their scoring opportunities in the post interval more and kept the rival under stress, before clinching the victory.
Al Gharafa, who had lost their game to El Jaish in the first phase, were on a 14-game winning streak. They required to win today’s match to force a play-off. But they did not succeed.
Macklin commented, “We just played hard. The coach and management asked us to play hard and a team. Al Gharafa have got some good players. They have good coaches. So we knew we’d have to play on the top.
“There is no secret behind our 18 wins in a row. We have a great coach and we just love to play tough,” added Macklin.
A pleased and proud captain Fadi said after the match: “We had been fed up with winning the silver and bronze medals. We just wanted the gold medal this time. Right from the Day 1, we’d been focused and determined. We wanted to shine and we just worked hard for the dream to win it for our basketball head Obaidly. His commitment and care for us are unparallel.
“We’re glad that we managed to pull it off. It wasn’t easy at all. Al Gharafa had been playing as well as we’d been doing. So we knew that it would be a tough game. But we broke through their resistance after the interval.
“I want to thank everybody who contributed to this win. Also we want to thank previous coach Dragoslav (Milovanovic), who shaped the team for so many years,” added Abilmona.
Davon said, “It’s an amazing feeling to have won three titles in a row. I’ve got a lot of respect for all the teams. I feel Al Gharafa are a great team. But we began working hard even before the season. We just prepared ourselves in a way that we could come out on the court and play our best basketball in each match.
“There are a lot of things achieved through this victory. It was the third title for me. For the team, it was second League crown. Macklin just played brilliantly. He was the real MVP of the match,” added Davon.
Al Gharafa Club coach Koussay Hatem was disappointed that his main player Monroe was not being allowed to play to his potential. “Sammy is a strong player. He loves to perform but unfortunately, the teams are not being fair to let him play.
“We did extremely well before the interval. But later, we could not get going. Some of our players took the match as a friendly game. They did not take it seriously. Now we have the Qatar Cup and Emir Cup. Hopefully, we’ll do something to overcome this setback,” said Hatem.

Result
El Jaish beat Al Gharafa Club 74-65
First quarter – 19 18
Second quarter – 39 41
Third quarter – 56-52
Fourth quarter – 74 65

Main performers – El Jaish: Vernon Leon Macklin 38 pts, Davon James Dominic 13 pts, Fadi Hani Abilmona 13 pts

Al Gharafa Club: Sammy Monroe Jr 24 pts & 12 rebounds, Wayne Alexander Arnold Jr 14 pts, Hassino Ndoye 13 pts