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Al Rayyan retain basketball league title

DOHA 2 March 2016: Defending champions Al Rayyan yesterday crushed Al Sadd 71-62 to take the best-of-three series 2-0 and emerge as Qatar Basketball League (QBL) title winners for the second time in a row.

Going into the second game witha 1-0 cushion, Al Rayyan fought back in the last two quarters and retained the title they won last season, thanks to high-scoring performances from Davon James Dominic and Ngombo Tanguy Alban. Dominic scored 25 points and managed 8 assists while Alban poured in 22 points. Alban also had 3 assists. Coach Koufos Stergios stifled Al Sadd’s firepower with an all-round planning of attack and aggressive defense to seal a memorable win at Al Gharafa Indoor Hall. Al Rayyan veteran and captain Yaseen Musa said: “It is a well deserved win. We played against of the finest teams this season. Al Sadd provided us stiff resistance but we stuck it out.” He added: “I think we knew we were on the way in the latter part of the (second) game and once we took the lead, we knew we had hold it together.”

For Al Rayyan, Abdulla Malek Salem scored 15 points and managed 2 assists while Hill Lawrence chipped in with 6 points. Al Rayyan coach Stergios was quick to praise his team and officials
of the club. First of all i want to thank God. This is my second year and we have won the second title,”
Stergios said. “It was a great performance. It was important for us to win this title since we played great. It wasn’t easy at all,” Stergios said. “This championship title is more difficult than the last one. We believe
the players deserve all credit. They played amazingly well,” Stergios said. “I want to thank the president and top officials of the club and they gave us good support. We worked and played as family,” Stergios said before the prize distribution ceremony. “I don’t want to forget my captain Yaseen, He will retired after this season. He has been a tremendous player right throughout his career,” he said.

For Zoran Kreckovic-coached Al Sadd, Abdi Khalid Suliman, Saeed Erfan Ali, Kone Mohamed Deba
and Raffa Anthony reached double figures. Suliman scored 16 points while Ali managed 15. Deba scored 14 points while Anthony contributed with a tally of 11. Anthony also had 4 assists. Al Rayyan and Al Sadd drew level in the first quarter 18-all but the defending champions slipped in the second when Al Sadd closed at 40-34. Howeverm Al Rayyan picked up their game in the third quarter, leading at 53-48 before winning the last at 71-61.

Qatar Basketball Federation
(QBF) President Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrehman Al Thani presented Musa with the winner’s shield and
medals at the prize distribution ceremony. Al Rayyan club officials were also present as the boys in red celebrated in style to close out the QBL season on a winning note. In the first game, Al Rayyan won handsomely 78-48.

Al Rayyan club’s Vice President
Rashid bin Nasser Al Khalifa said:
“This is a well-deserving win for our club. Now we will celebrate this win and then start all over again. We
want to win more trophies in the rest of the season. This is the best sideand we will fight all over again in
all competitions.”

Al Khalifa said: “I congratulate the players and the coaching staff for their hard work in our win. I also
laud the efforts of the technical and administrative staff of QBF during the season.”

Qatar Basketball League champions could be decided today

DOHA: Al Rayyan will take on Al Sadd in the second of the best-of-three Qatar League finals at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall today. The match will begin at 7pm and will be open to the public for free.

Al Rayyan, who have won the Qatar League a record 16 times, have one hand on the 17th title. They defeated 2013 victors Al Sadd 78-48 in the first of the best-of-three games last week.

James Dominic Davon and Njimbo Tangui will once again be the main players for Al Rayyan. Meanwhile, Mohamed Deba Kone and Raffa Anthony will keep the Al Sadd machinery moving.

Although Al Rayyan won the first final by a handsome 30-point margin, Al Sadd are not going to be pushovers. They have a talent to stand up and be counted when it matters the most. Faced with a do-or-die situation, they are going to fight to the finish.

If Al Sadd beat Al Rayyan and tie the three-game final 1-1, then the all-important match will be played on Friday.

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.

Big-Four to meet in semifinals

DOHA: Come Tuesday and all roads in the country will lead to the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall for the first game of the best-of-three semifinals of the 2015-16 Qatar League.

While 16-time champions Al Rayyan will face off against 2008 winners El Jaish, 2013 victors Al Sadd lock horns with 2014 winners Al Gharafa.

The semifinals will be played on February 16, 20 and 24. The best-of-three finals are scheduled for February 27, March 1 and 4 respectively.

Rayyan’s Greek coach Koufos Stergios, who helped the side win their maiden Arab Club Championship upon taking charge in 2014, sounded confident about retaining the league title.

“Rayyan are a team that hates to lose. We topped the league table and our players are in the right frame of mind. We promise our fans we’ll try our best to retain the league title,” he said, while addressing a pre-match Press conference.

However, his Serbian counterpart Dragoslav Milovanovic sounded a little worried.

“Before the season’s start, we took part in two major competitions and my players are tired. We’re also missing several stars. It’ll make our progress much more difficult. We’ll try our best, but things aren’t going to be easy,” said the experienced tactician.

Al Gharafa coach Kosay Hatem felt his boys were ready to take on any opposition.

“We’re not at all concerned about who we’re going to face. I’m pleased with my wards’ performances so far and we’re ready for anyone. We’ll put our best foot forward. Our sole aim is to win the league shield again,” said the Iraqi, who has been with Gharafa for close to a decade.

Meanwhile, Sadd’s Serbian coach Zoran Krekovic bemoaned his players’ lack of preparations.

“At the start of the season, most of my players were away with other teams on international duty. As a result, we hardly got any time to train together. It affected our performances. But under the circumstances, I’m happy we made it to the top-four. We’ll push ourselves hard to make a positive impact,” he said.

Qatar Basketball Federation General Secretary Mohammed Ali Al Hobash and Assistant General Secretary Mohammad Subaei attended the Press conference.

The four teams’ managers — Aljlan Anezi (Al Rayyan), Khalid Al Mohannadi (El Jaish), Saleh Mabrook (Al Gharafa) and Nabil Abo Issa (Al Sadd) — were also present.

Ten winners at first-ever FIBA 3x3 Awards

DOHA (FIBA 3x3 Awards) - The best 3x3 basketball players, organisers and personalities were rewarded at the inaugural edition of the FIBA 3x3 Awards, presented by the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) on Thursday in Doha, Qatar.

Dusan Domovic Bulut (Serbia) received the World's #1 player award after leading the FIBA 3x3 Individual World Ranking at the end of the season. The list of decorated players also included Patricia Vicente (Andorra, World's #1 Player - Women), Nina Aho (Hungary, World's #1 Player - U18 Women) and Nedim Muslic (Qatar, World's #1 Player - U18 Men). Last but not least, Terrence Romeo (Philippines) was named the most spectacular player of the year by the fans following a social media contest held on all FIBA 3x3 social media accounts.

In the organisers' categories, the Brazil Basketball Federation (CBB) won the Best Performing Federation award after leading the FIBA 3x3 Federation Ranking at the end of the season, while the Netherlands Basketball Federation (NBB) received the award for the Most Active Federation after organizing more than 3,000 games involving over 4,000 players in 2015. The Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) took home the Best CSR Project award for their social activities around 3x3. Hungarian private promoter B33 received the Most Valuable Promoter award for attracting over 5,000 players to their 3x3 tournaments over the year.

QBF President HE Sheik Saoud Bin Abdulrahaman Al-Thani was presented the Outstanding Contribution award. Under his leadership, Qatar became the host of the FIBA 3x3 All Stars, established a nation-wide 3x3 programme and built a team, that won the 2014 FIBA 3x3 World Championships.

3x3 continues to be in the spotlight in Doha, Qatar on Friday 11 December with the third edition of the FIBA 3x3 All Stars, the season-ending event for 3x3 basketball which brings together the best teams from the FIBA 3x3 Individual Ranking from all over the world.

The ten winners are:

World's #1 Player - Men: Dusan Domovic Bulut (Serbia)

World's #1 Player - Women: Patricia Vicente (Andorra)

World's # 1 Player - U18 Men: Nedim Muslic (Qatar)

World's #1 Player - U18 Women: Nina Aho (Hungary)Most Spectacular Player:

Terrence Romeo (Philippines)

Best Performing Federation: Brazil Basketball Federation (CBB)

Most Active Federation: Netherlands Basketball Federation (NBB)

Most Valuable Promoter: B33 (Hungary)

Best CSR Project: Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF)

Outstanding Contribution: HE Sheik Saoud Bin Abdulrahaman Al-Thani (Qatar)