Al Khor’s Ronald controls the ball as Al Rayyan’s Alexander (No 44) defends during their QBL match yesterday. PICTURES: Othman khalid Right: El Jaish’s Leon Macklin makes a dunk during a Qatar Basketball League game against Al Ahli yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Al Rayyan edged Al Khor in second overtime to clinch a thriller against Al Khor in the Qatar Basketball League (QBL) last evening.
In a see-saw battle that saw the teams tied at 78-all in regulation and again 96-96 at the end of the first overtime, Al Rayyan pulled out all the stops in the dying stages to record a 109-104 victory.
Al Rayyan appeared set for a win in regulation but a last-gasp three-pointer by C. Abuo helped Al Khor equalize and force the first overtime.
The first overtime saw both teams matching each other point for point and locked at 96-all before Al Rayyan pulled away for a creditable victory.
T. Ngombo top-scored for Al Rayyan with 34 points, while Q. Alexander had 62.
For Al Khor, P. Ronald excelled with 44, while Abuo had 34.
In the first match, Alex Legion had a match-high 31 points while Leon Macklin chipped in with 22 as El Jaish thrashed Al Ahli 95-63.
El Jaish stamped their authority early in the match and never looked back, enjoying a 72-44 lead by the end of the third quarter that virtually ended Al Ahli’s challenge.
Legion displayed remarkable accuracy from the three-point mark, managing to convert seven of his nine attempts while also coming away with a 100 per cent record with 10 points from five two-point attempts.
El Jaish scored 15 points from turnovers as against Al Ahli’s 12 and were aided by their superior bench strength with substitutes accounting for 19 points.
For Al Ahli, Jimmy William top-scored with 19 while Lamar Demond had 16.
The next round of match will be played on Tuesday.
