Edward Justice scored a match-high 31 points as Qatar Sports Club held on grimly to pull off a thrilling 84-83 victory over Al Khor in the Emir Cup basketball tournament last night.
Nothing much separated the two teams although Al Khor just about managed to stay a point ahead after the end of the first two quarters (18-17, 38-37).
The trend continued for the next 10 minutes with Al Khor posting a 63-61 lead setting up the foundation for a nervy final quarter. And that indeed proved the case as both teams exchanged leads several times before Qatar Sports Club hit a short purple match following a three-point jump shot by Mohamed Ba-Sulaiman with three minutes and four seconds remaining.
That gave Qatar Sports Club an 80-78 lead and when Ibou scored two points with a jump shot with 1.49 remaining, they had taken a crucial four-point advantage. With time running out, Al Khor needed to make the most of their chances but Gary Layton missed a three-pointer and a two-point jump shot much to their frustration.
It didn’t seem like Al Khor’s day when Demetrius Haymon conceded a turnover with 1.17 on the clock and Justice made it count with a jump-shot, putting Qatar Sports Club 84-78 ahead.
The suspense increased four seconds later when Al Khor cut down to just three points thanks to a Shawky Mohamed three-pointer with a minute and three seconds remaining (84-81). Qatar Sports Club then conceded a foul which and Abdulkarim Mohamed made both his free-throws count to help Al Khor come within a point. But Qatar Sports Club managed to hang on, and when Mohamed missed a jump-shot with just a second remaining, they heaved a sigh of relief.
Justice was aided by Mahmood Abdulla and Ibrahim Giama who scored 14 and 12 points, respectively. Haymon was the top scorer for Al Khor with 27 points with Mustafa Lasheen close behind on 21.
In the second match of the day, Al Gharafa eased past Shamal 92-78 with Taylor Michael excelling with 29 points.
Gharafa led for most part of the match but stepped on the accelerator in the third quarter to score 24 points which gave them a 68-59 advantage. They were not going to let the lead slip away, scoring 24 points again in the final quarter to clinch a comfortable win and stay in the hunt for their second title of the year.
For Al Shamal, Mohamed Harat scored 23 points while Sahel Elhag had 19 and Abdulkadir Kosar 14.