Dominic shines as Rayyan capture 17th League crown

Dominic Davon starred with a match-high 25 points as Al Rayyan captured the Qatar Basketball League title for the 17th time by sweeping to their second consecutive win in their best-of-three finals against Al Sadd.
After their crushing 48-78 loss in the first game of the series last weekend, Al Sadd produced a much better performance yesterday but still failed to make most of their 40-34 second quarter advantage before crashing to a 71-62 defeat against Qatar’s most dominant side over the years.
Davon, who played the full duration of the match, was definitely the man of the moment for Al Rayyan as he scored at crucial times to help his side take control, especially during the third and fourth quarters when they were under tremendous pressure.
Trailing by six points after the second quarter, Al Rayyan clawed their way up thanks to Davon and Alban Ngombo who took the fight to the opposition.
The turning point of the match came when Al Rayyan hit a rare purple patch and produced seven consecutive points after the teams were tied 58-all to lead 65-58.
Davon had scored three of those seven points which helped Al Rayyan deliver the killer blow from which Al Sadd never recovered.
Ngombo was not far behind for Al Rayyan, scoring 22 points, while Salem Abdullah had 15.
The match started in dramatic fashion with Al Sadd taking a 10-5 lead after the first five minutes before Al Rayyan pulled up their socks and forced a 18-18 first quarter tie.
Al Sadd, however, were off the mark quickly in the second quarter and scored a whopping 16 points in the final five minutes while restricting Al Rayyan to just six.
That gave them a 40-34 cushion but Al Rayyan fought back gamely to lead 53-48 after the third quarter before their seven-point streak in the final session tilted the game in their favour.
For Al Sadd, Khalid Suliman Abdi was the top scorer with 16 points, while Saeed Erfan Ali and Deba Kone had 15 and 14, respectively.
Al Rayyan coach Koufos Stergios credited the victory to team spirit.
“More than a team we are like one family where we back each other to the hilt,” Stergios said after the match.
“We were under a great deal of pressure during the final but it was this team spirit and our never-say-die attitude that helped us turn the tide and win the championship.
“Dominic  was outstanding, but so were Alban and the rest of the guys. Al Sadd played very well but we stayed in the game and finally pulled it off.”
The coach said his team’s focus will now shift to the Cup tournaments.
“We will celebrate our win for two-three days and after that we will focus on the Qatar Cup and the Emir Cup besides the regional tournaments that are due.”