An Al Ittihad player score against Al Ahli. UAE’s Al Ahli defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad 75-69. PICTURES: Anas Khalid


By Sports Reporter/Doha


Qatar’s Al Rayyan went down fighting to Al Kuwait 77-78 in the GCC Basketball Clubs Championship 2014 here at the Aspire women’s gym yesterday.
Rayyan took a 23-18 lead in the first quarter and was leading 57-56 at the end of the third quarter, but riding on a strong show by Marko Milic and Rashed Airbah, Kuwait rallied to beat Rayyan.
Milic was in fine touch as he found his shot on the crucial moments of the game and finished with 27 points for the winners. Milic was ably supported by Airbah, who scored 22 points with four three-pointers and Jasmin Perkovic, who also chipped in with 15 points for the visitors.
For Qatar team Musa Yaseen and Boney Watson contributed 16 points each, while Zuza Jurica and Malek al-Abdulla scored 14 and 15 points, respectively.
In the second match of the day, Marshall Sean dropped 27 points including four three-pointers and three clutch free throws as UAE’s Al Ahli defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad 75-69. Tidiane Samb was also in full flow as he sank 25 points for his side.
For Ittihad, Marwani scored 22 points and Byron Simmons scored 21 points.
Defending champions Al Sadd, who got to a winning start by defeating Oman’s Nizwa 107-94 on Sunday, is the other Qatari side in the tournament. Al Wasl of United Arab Emirates and Manama of Bahrain are the other teams in the tournament.


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