Sports Reporter/Doha
Al Rayyan was denied an unblemished finish in the Qatar Men’s Basketball League on Sunday but ran away just the same with the championship crown for the fourth consecutive time by way of a hard-earned 13-1 win-loss record that bested all others in the eight-team tournament roster.Bowing 69-78 to a fighting Al Gharafa squad in their final assignment, the defending champions assured themselves of the title after an 82-65 demolition of Al Saad that pushed them way ahead of the pack with an insurmountable 12-0 slate.The powerhouse squad, boasting an awesome starting line-up bannered by National Team stalwart and NBA-draftee Alban Ngombo and a prolific import in La Mont Leslie, captured their 15th title in the league since its inaugural in 1981. Qatar Club has won 7 titles while Al Arabi has garnered 5 in the 31-year old tournament.Elated but his eyes on the tournament ahead, hardworking Brian Rowsom of Al Rayyan declares “ We are very happy we won the league championship. We played good and I’d like to thank the boys for playing hard. But now we’d like to focus on the Emir Cup. We want to get better for the upcoming league and we have our two imports flying in tomorrow.” Earlier in the evening, Al Saad defeated Qatar Club, 78-64, to peg an 11-3 first runner-up. Denied a shot at the title by titlist Al Rayaan, Coach Zoran Kreckovic’s wards missed the presence of import Benjamin Southall but relied on the heads up play of National Team mainstays Abdulrahman Ali and Djibril Abdoulaye to overwhelm their counterparts on both ends of the floor all game long.