Al Shabab secure first win in basketball event

Dubai: Former Iowa University star and Toronto Raptors’ player Leslie Chauncey scored a game-high 28 points to lead hosts Al Shabab to their first win, while fancied Hoops from Lebanon had to dig deep before winning against local side University of Sharjah on the third day of the Second Al Shabab Basketball Championship late on Sunday.

Up against it following some effective man-to-man marking, Al Shabab had to rely on a late scoring spree from Chauncey to come away 99-85 winners against Kuwait’s top side Al Sahel after Hoops had pressed the accelerator late to fight their way to an 88-83 win over UOS.

The hosts grabbed the initiative early on and after outscoring Al Shabab again in the second quarter had established a 46-31 cushion going into the break.

The hosts kept up the pressure and were at one stage enjoying a 21-point lead in the final quarter, with Chauncey adding eight points to his earlier eight during the first two periods. But with Americans Anthony Green and Bilal Abdullah finding their range, Al Sahel came within striking distance.

However, it was at this moment that Chauncey stepped in and scored a dozen points, including two from outside the ring and six from the charity line to help the hosts to a smooth win. Ably assisting the American was playmaker Jasem Abdul Redha Yousuf with 19 points while Omar Khalid Al Amri also joined the party with 18, including a couple of triples near the end of the final quarter.

“I think our issue is that of bonding,” Chauncey told Gulf News. “It will take some time for us to understand each other on and off the court. I am sure we will improve as this tournament goes on.”

Al Shabab coach Ahmad Mohammad Omar was pleased with his team’s display after slipping a bit in the second half. “The players need to be lauded as they stepped up when needed and came away with the win,” he said. “We exposed some of our weaknesses today but I am sure we will be working on these in the next match.”

In the day’s earlier match, UOS stretched fancied Hoops from Lebanon. The UOS side showed true grit as they tied the Lebanese 63-63 at the end of the third quarter and then took an eight-point lead with 5.48 minutes remaining in the final period.

But Hoops’ Carey Williams had other ideas as he used his superior experience in beating his marker to come out top-scorer with 29 points, including three assists, six turnovers and a steal to seal the win for the Lebanese side.

Williams and American teammate Harold Jamieson amassed 60 points between them as Hoops clinched victory in the final two minutes of the match.

“It was the lack of experience that cost us the match,” UOS coach Adel Abdullah said.

“I have rules for my team and these rules need to be respected on court,” Hoops coach Omar Hassino said. “My players did not do this and that is why we struggled. A rigorous practice session will see them fall in line.”