El Jaish and Rayyan coaches, players and officials pose during a press conference at the Al Gharafa Sports Club yesterday.

By Anil John/Doha

They beat us twice, we beat them twice. So it’s anybody’s game.”
El Jaish assistant coach Pape Ndao was talking about his team’s record this season against Al Rayyan, but just take a cursory glance at history and the enormity of the task becomes all too apparent.
Not for nothing are Al Rayyan considered one of the giants of continental club basketball. The two-time former Asian Champions Cup winners have literally been the sole torchbearers of Gulf basketball in international competitions, giving the best teams in countries like China, Japan and South Korea a run for their money.
But it’s at the national level that their record seems so overwhelming. Having won the Men’s League a whopping 15 times out of 18, not to speak of their achievements in the Cup tournaments – they have won the Emir’s Cup and Heir Apparent’s Cup six times – it’s unlikely they would be surrendering their dominance so easily.
With a bit of luck, they could have sealed the best-of-three finals 2-0 had they not missed a couple of chances in the dying seconds on Tuesday when El Jaish hung on to win the second game 84-82 and draw level, necessitating today’s decider.
Ndao was filling in for Head Coach Dragoslav Milovanovic at a press conference ahead of the decider attended by players, officials and staff from both sides.
“Al Rayyan are a great team as everybody knows,” Ndau added. “But we are not too far behind.”
El Jaish have several stars in their line-up who have been in excellent form throughout the season, notably Harold Boney Watson, Larell Taggart Hani Abilmona and Leon Macklin.
Taggart, in fact, was the top-scorer for either side in Tuesday’s match with 31 points. It was his dunk at 81-81 that proved decisive in the match with only a few seconds remaining.
Al Rayyan’s new coach Koufos Stergios, who took over from American Brian Rowsom, said he chose to take up the offer because he was impressed with the team’s credentials.
“I have come here with many dreams,” the Greek said. “It was my choice to come here. I wanted to share with them the knowledge I have and help them develop their game.”
Stergios added that the Qatar Basketball Federation are keen to raise the level of the game and have been doing a great job.
“The final matches have proven once again that the level of basketball in the country is quite high. Tomorrow’s match will be a celebration of that,” said.
Stergios, however, was not too happy with the referees’ performances during the second game.
“There were many mistakes committed. This can’t be justified,” he said.
Al Rayyan player Malek Salem Abdulla, however, was a bit more sympathetic.
“Referees in Qatar are very good but maybe the pressure of the final got to them,” said the national team player.
“I for one know that the referees work very hard to improve their skills. They watch videos of their games and try hard not to repeat their mistakes.
“But they are also human and sometimes in tense situations some decisions can go wrong.”
Abdulla scored 15 points in Tuesday’s second game, and will be once again one of the players to watch out for.
Of course, Al Rayyan have no shortage of players who can swing the game on their own – Armond Bolds, Dominic Davon veteran Yaseen Musa Ismail to name a few.
All in all it could be another cracker of a contest today. The match begins at 5pm at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall.