By Sports Reporter/Doha
Al Rayyan overcame a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to edge past Al Arabi in the Emir Cup basketball tournament at the Al Gharafa Hall yesterday.
The Qatari giants nailed the match 79-72 by scoring a whopping 31 points in the final 10 minutes to leave Al Arabi shocked and cursing their luck, especially after they had produced a similar performance in the second quarter during which they scored 25 points to lead 61-48.
Al Rayyan appeared on course to victory when they led Al Arabi 19-14 and 37-36 after the first two quarters before Al Arabi got their act together and produced a stellar display of attacking basketball.
They not only restricted Al Rayyan to just 11 points, but scored at will to take a handy 61-48 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
However, Al Rayyan led by Dominic Devon’s 28 points scythed through the Al Arabi lead and within no time overtook them to win with some degree of comfort in the end.
Armond Bolds and William Christopher also excelled for the winners with 15 points each, while Yaseen Musa had 10.
Oumar Seck and Ousama Mataiqa with 14 each top-scored for Arabi, while Hassino Ndoye and Tanguy Ngombo chipped in with 13 and 12 respectively. Al Rayyan led for 21 minutes in the game and had a 15-8 advantage when it came to second chance points. They also scored a handy 12 points from turnovers, while Al Arabi had just two.
In the other match of the day, Al Gharafa prevailed over Qatar Sports Club 85-77, thanks to Wallace Cox’s 32 points.
Although the match was close, there was very little drama as Al Gharafa stayed in front for almost 31 minutes of the match. Mile Ilic and Abdulrahman Mohamed chipped in with 16 and 12 for Al Rayyan.
For Al Gharafa, Osaro Adako was the top scorer with 21 points, while Deangelo Downey had 18 and Saad Abdulrahman 15.
Today, El Jaish play Al Shamal at 5pm, while Al Ahli meet Al Sadd at 7pm.
Action during the match between Al Rayyan and Al Arabi in the Emir Cup basketball tournament.
