7 hours Ago
Doha, Qatar: Reigning champions Al Arabi continued their flawless run in the Amir Cup Basketball Championship 2025, defeating Al Gharafa 79-67 at Al Gharafa Sports Club yesterday.
The Group A contest was tied at 21-all after a tightly contested first quarter, but Al Arabi gained control with a strong 27-11 show in the second period to lead 48-32 at halftime.
Al Gharafa narrowed the deficit midway through the third period which ended with scores of 19-15 in favour of the Cheetahs.
However, despite a thrilling final quarter which saw both teams scoring 16 points each, Al Arabi managed to secure their second straight win.
Al Arabi’s centre Elmedin Kikanovic was a dominant force, scoring a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Bahraini Mustafa Hussein Ali Ahmed Rashed added 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while guard Abdulrahman Saad chipped in 14 points and a game-high five assists to power Al Arabi.
Al Gharafa’s resistance was led by Makye Zeon Jowan Richard, who scored 21 points and made four assists and six rebounds.
Dzmitry Ryuny made 16 points and nine rebounds, while Bosnian Nedim Music added 13 points and seven rebounds, but the hosts could not recover from their disastrous second quarter.
The result lifted Al Arabi to second place below leaders Al Ahli who defeated Qatar SC with a dominant 96-71 score earlier yesterday.
The victory took Al Ahli’s winning run to three matches in the Amir Cup, placing them at the top of the group with six points.
A blistering 35-11 opening quarter gave The Brigadiers a comfortable lead. Despite spirited spells from Qatar SC in the second and fourth periods, Al Ahli held on to secure full points.
Omar Roushdy Abdelbaset led Al Ahli’s scoring with 20 points, while Moustapha Ndao made nine rebounds and eight assists. For Qatar SC, Dejan Janjic produced a game-high 37 points and made 15 rebounds. Asem Walid Shalfawi handed out five assists despite going down in the thrilling encounter.
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