Al Sahel and Barako Bull make semis grade

Dubai: Barako Bull from the Philippines kept up their winning streak with a convincing 99-77 result over winless University of Sharjah (UOS), while Al Sahel of Kuwait kept it to late for a 101-89 victory against Libya’s Al Ahli in the last of the quarter-finals at the second Al Shabab Basketball Championship on Thursday night.

Al Sahel earned a semi-final against hosts Al Shabab while Barako Bull were up against Hoops from Lebanon to see who contests Saturday’s final.

Unbeaten in the group stages, the men from the Philippines were simply the better equipped side against the amateur UOS team. Though the youngsters from Sharjah matched the Filipinos at 21-18 at the end of the opening quarter, Barako Bull earned a healthy 12-point cushion by 53-41 at half-time.

Barako Bull went on a scoring spree early in the second period to build a double-digit lead at 28-18 with 8:12 remaining.

In the first six minutes of the third period, Barako Bull were steaming ahead 72-45 and there was no looking back, with Mark Macapagal signing off with three three-pointers.

Earlier, Al Sahel shrugged off a six-point deficit (22-28) at the end of the opening quarter on their way to victory over Al Ahli.

By half-time the gap was down to a mere point at 44-45.

Abdullah Al Shammari was most effective for the Kuwaiti side with seven points apiece in the opening two quarters, while Anthony Green added 11.

For the Libyan side, the consistent Craig Winder was the only one in double digits.

Al Sahel reclaimed the lead 54-53 with six minutes to go in the third quarter thanks to a maximum from Shayee Mahfoz. But the Libyans nudged ahead on Baqer Mohammad’s two free throws to lead 66-65 with only 2:25 remaining.

The teams went in for their last break tied 71-71, when the Kuwaiti side fought back and established a ten-point lead at 94-84 on their way to victory.