Al Gharafa and Al Shamal advanced to the semi-finals of the Emir Cup basketball tournament with almost identical wins over Al Rayyan and Al Ahli respectively at the Al Gharafa Sports Club yesterday.
A fine 30-point effort by Sammy Monroe was the highlight as Al Gharafa saw off Al Rayyan 92-83, while Hrvoje Pulijko excelled with 34 for Al Shamal as they edged out Al Ahli 91-84.
Al Gharafa took the first quarter honours against Al Rayyan, leading 20-16, but the latter fought back to edge ahead 45-42 at the end of the second period.
Al Gharafa, however, came up with 28 points in the third quarter while restricting their rivals to just 18 and took a seven-point advantage (70-63) into the final 10 minutes.
That proved handy as Al Gharafa withstood some tense moments to clinch the match comfortably.
Preston Knowles and Abdulrahman Sadd with 23 and 22 also excelled for the winners. For Al Rayyan, Terrel Von Stoglin’s match-high 40 points went in vain.
In the second match, Pulijko scored 21 of his 24 points from the three-point mark to help Al Shamal oust Al Ahli.
Al Shamal led 21-16 after the first quarter only to be overtaken at the end of the second. However, they improved their position with some excellent play later to wrap up the match with a fair degree of comfort.
Mathew Bryan-Amaning with 19 and Dominic James with 18 also made significant contributions for the winners, while Christopher Jones top scored for Al Ahli with 35.