Qatar Basketball

Al Rayyan gets first win in HH Heir Apparent Cup

Pulling away before the halftime break, Al Rayyan went full throttle in the third and coasted along in the final period to smother a bewildered Qatar Club, 98-72, in the curtain raiser of the 13th Season of the HH Heir Apparent Cup last night at the Al Gharafa Indoor Arena.

The Qatar Men’s League champions had their hands full and were falling behind, 11-12 halfway in the opening period but put the pressure on Qatar Club new recruits Dominique Moriz and Ahmin Divide to finish the quarter leading at 25-20.

Al Rayyan kept their offensive game going in the second quarter behind the prolific triumvirate of Qatar National Team mainstays Tanguy Alban Ngombo and Erfan Ali Saeed, and hardworking import Leslie Chauncey to soar comfortably ahead 66-36 at the half.

Saeed led all scorers with 24, with Leslie contributing 18 and Ngombo 15. Soyebo Temie starred for Qatar Club with 20, while Moriz chipped in 17 and Divide, 16.

The HH Heir Apparent Cup features two groups playing single round-robin with the top two finishers colliding in the cross-over semi-final round, and the winners thereof battling for the championship.

In the second match of the evening, El Jaish warded off a stubborn Al Ahli Club to nail down a 78-66 victory.

National player Baker Ahmad Mohammed led El Jaish’ winning cause with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Games Today (12 March 2012)

17:00Al Sadd vs. Al Wakrah

19:00Al Arabi vs. Al Gharafa

Qatar Basketball Federation Executive Board Meeting

The new Qatar Basketball Federation Executive Board under the leadership of His Excellency Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani convened an Executive Board Meeting at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall Conference Room on Tuesday, March 6th. 

Joining H.E. Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani who is both QBF President and Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary General are Mr. Ahmad Ali Al-Mawlawi, QBF Secretary General and Board Members Mr. Khamis Al-Sheraim and Mr. Ahmad Bokshisha together with Mr. Ali Mohammed Alkhayat, Executive Director and Dr. Moustafa Diab, Technical Expert.

Topmost in the agenda was the long-term plan for the 2012-2013 Season of the Qatar Basketball League including drafting new regulations to step up the level of competitions and make basketball more attractive to the fans.

The Executive Board Members likewise discussed plans and preparations for the forthcoming HH Heir Apparent Cup set to start this Sunday, March 11th and HH Emir Cup which will immediately follow after the completion of the HH Heir Apparent Cup.

To spice up the two very important events of the Qatar Basketball League, the Executive Board will be giving out a “Best Player Award” not only for the tournament but after each game. Aside from the recognition, the Best Player of the Game awardee will receive a cash prize of QAR1000 per game and QAR 15,000 for the tournament.

Exciting pre-game and half-time shows have also been lined up for the spectators such as the Three-Point Shoot-out, Half-court Golden Shot and Free-Throw Shooting Contest whereby the winner of each contest will win QAR500 for the Three-Point Shoot-out, QAR10,000 for the Half-court Golden Shot and QAR300 for the Free-Throw Shooting Contest. 

Also taken up and finalized during the meeting is the date of the Draw for the HH Emir Cup which will be on March 19. Details of this will be communicated soon.