El Jaish had Rashad Ernest Bell’s terrific 38-point haul to thank for their 96-83 win over Al Wakrah in Match 6 of the Qatar Basketball Cup at Al Gharafa Sports Club yesterday.

After just five minutes into the game, Wakrah held a five-point advantage at 16-11, and they held the lead at the end of the first quarter at 32-27.

As the second quarter began, Wakrah extended the lead to eight points at 35-27 but thereafter Bell & Co. began clawing back and 15 minutes into the game, the Jaish’s deficit was down to one at 35-36.

After a successful second quarter for Jaish, in which they scored 21 points as against 10 by Wakrah, the former wrested control of the game.

While the two teams were evenly matched in the third quarter, scoring 19 points each, Jaish dunked 29 points in the final quarter to take a 96-83 win.

Bell dunked 11 two-pointers, three three-pointers and seven free throws for his points haul. He was ably supported by Vernon Leon Macklin, Babcar Marone Ngom and Fadi Hani Abilmona, who scored 19, 14 and 10 points respectively.

For Wakrah, Adamu Saaka topped the scoresheets with 30 points, while Boney Harold Watson added 21 points and Mame Souleye Ndour scored 11.

A 32-point haul in the final quarter must have been satisfying but not enough as Al Khor went down to Al Shamal 77-87 in the first match of the day.

Al Khor had a difficult time catching on with Shamal, especially after scoring only 10 points to Shamal’s 32 in the first quarter. And while the second and third quarter were close, the deficit from the first two quarters ensured that Khor never took the lead in the match.

In the second half of the game, Khor, trailing by 28 points at 38-66, seemed to have gotten their act together but that eventually proved futile.

Shamal’s Mildon Ambres scored a match-high 26 points, with seven two-pointers, two three-pointers and six free throws in his kitty.

Abdulqadir Kosar and Mohamed Kamal Hachad pitched in with 24 and 22 points respectively.

Patrick Ronald Rembert was impressive among the Khor contingent scoring 25 points. He had seven two-pointers, two three-pointers and five free-throws to show for for his points haul. Others to get into double figures were Charles Abouo (14 points), Alen Hadzibegovic (12 points) and Abdulaziz Adam (11 points).

The tournament returns to action on Sunday with Al Rayyan taking on El Jaish in the first match at 5pm, while Al Gharafa will face Al Shamal at 7pm.

Credit: Gulf Time Sport