Al Sadd and Al Gharafa players vie for the ball during the Emir Cup best-of-three semi-finals at Al Gharafa Sports Club yesterday. Sadd won 57-55. PICTURE: Othman Iraqi
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Al Sadd edged past Al Gharafa yesterday to set-up a Emir Cup final clash against El Jaish on Friday.
In the third of match of the best-of-three semi-finals played at Al Gharafa Sports Club, Sadd held their nerves to win 57-55 against Gharafa.
After losing their first match 63-80, Sadd had beaten the defending champions 77-70 to force the tie into the third match. Runners-up El Jaish had made it to the Emir Cup final after winning their second match in the best-of-three semi-finals against Qatar League champions Al Rayyan on Sunday.
Yesterday, Sadd overcame some anxious moments before getting past their rivals and seal their place in the final.
After an even start at the beginning, Sadd took a five-point lead at the end of first period and they then extended it to seven after the end of second quarter. Sadd continued to dominate the third period as well and went into the last quarter with a six-point lead. However, Gharafa had other plans as they bounced back in splendid fashion. The reduced the lead to three points and went down by just two points at the final hooter.
For Sadd, Parish Petti was the top-scorer with 17 points, closely followed by Abdi Suliman Khalid with 16.
Gharafa's Devan Deangelo, however, topped the scoresheets for the match with 27 points but his heroics could not prevent Sadd from winning.
Deangelo dunked 9 two-pointers and three free-throws for his points haul. Adako Emmanuel Osaro added 11 points, while Samuel Monroe Jr. pitched in with 8 for Gharafa.
