Dubai: Moamin Mohammad outscored all with 18 points as Al Ahli, Egypt stormed into the final of the second Dubai International Junior Basketball Championships with an emphatic 51-47 win over Al Riyadi, Jordan, on Thursday.
Al Ahli will now meet the winner of the second semi-final between Dubai’s Al Nasr and tournament favourites Partizan, Belgrade of Serbia that was scheduled to be played later in the night.
One of the two unbeaten teams in the tournament so far, Al Ahli led 34-18 at the end of the first half. But the Jordanians staged a strong fightback in the fourth and final quarter, at one time narrowing down the cushion to ten points with 3.45 minutes left. But with playmaker Mohammad Boody controlling things in the middle, Al Ahli eventually walked away winners by a narrow margin of four points.
“There were two reasons why the match was so close. First, our players thought we had won already due to the lead we enjoyed and then at the same time I gave my bench players a chance to play and that affected our rhythm,” Al Ahli coach Ahmad El Garhi told Gulf News.
“The ultimate aim was to win and we did that. We are excited now about playing in the final tomorrow,” he added.
Making a major difference for the Egyptian club was Moamin, who showed fine skills in quick break attacks as Al Ahli led 19-6 at the end of the opening quarter.
Midway through the second period, it was Hazem Al Sher who proved to be effective from the right flank in helping the Jordanians stay within respectability through a couple of successive three-pointers to narrow the gap towards respectability 25-14 midway. The Egyptians went on for the break with a healthy 34-18 lead.
The Egyptians maintained the pressure in the third period and stayed 19 points away from Al Riyadi at 43-24. But Al Riyadi came alive in the final quarter as they fought for every ball, while causing the off-guard Egyptians into making mistakes. They came within four points trailing 45-49 with 52.5 seconds remaining, but eventually managed to hold on for a win.
Held in cooperation with the UAE Basketball Association and AUD, the second edition of the championships has Emirates, Al Naboudah Audi, Events Organisation Committee, Medeor Hospital and Vertex Trading LLC, along with main partners Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Aquafina, Almarai, Khalifa Tower, Pocari Sweat, Ronaldo’s Spago and Bonton as sponsors.
Friday’s fight for third place will be at 2.30pm, after which the final will be held at 4.30pm.
Semi-final: Al Ahli, Egypt def. Al Riyadi, Jordan 51-47
Friday’s schedule: (2.30pm) Third place play-off; (4.30pm) Final
