Hoops and Al Shabab through to last four

Dubai: Hosts Al Shabab and Hoops of Lebanon became the first two quarter-finalists at the second Al Shabab Basketball Championship with contrasting wins here late on Wednesday.

Stuttering at the half-way stage, Al Shabab came alive in the last two quarters to easily swamp American side Team Unity 108-82, while Hoops, who finished seventh in the Lebanese Basketball League last season, got the better of a developmental side from Egyptian giants Zamalek.

After losing all three group matches, Team Unity looked a much better side in the last-eight stages, with Mubarak Hashem Barot finding his range with nine points, including a triple, to remain within striking distance of the hosts at 23-22 at the end of the opening period.

The Americans led for a second time on Jermaine Joshua’s two free throws, only to see the hosts come alive with Leslie Chauncey on form for a 38-31 lead and 5.23 remaining on the clock before half-time.

By the time the teams went in for the break, the hosts had squandered their lead and were left trailing Team Unity at 49-43. Joshua had 17 points for the Americans.

Al Shabab reclaimed the lead at 58-57 and from then on the hosts kept their poise to surge into a 79-67 lead by the end of the third quarter.

With Team Unity looking tired due to inadequate bench strength, Al Shabab finished off the match and booked their place in the semi-finals against the winners of the match between Libya’s Al Ahli and Al Sahel of Kuwait.

In the second match, Hoops shot off to an early 9-0 cushion and led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter. By the half-way mark, Hoops had a slender lead at 31-27.

Zamalek clawed back to within six points at the end of the penultimate period but, with Harold Jamieson coming in handy with a game-high 24 points and the reliable Carey Williams pitching in with 21, the Lebanese side were safely away by 10 points.

“Tonight our mentality showed through, though we did not play with all our guts,” Hoops coach Omar Hassino told Gulf News. “We can only get better in the last two days of the competition.

“We don’t have any preferences for the semi-finals, but we are feeling confident enough to go all the way.”