By Danotzki Santos
Doha: Al Rayyan out-hassled and out-gunned Al Wakra all game long to run away with an 86-64 win last night and joined Al Arabi and Al Sadd at the top of the standings in the Qatar Men’s Basketball League (QMBL).
The defending champions shackled Wakra’s gunner Olatukombo Ayeni in the first ten minutes of the game. Yaseen Mousa and Erfan Saeed then combined forces to break Wakra’s inside defense in the second period to push Al Rayyan to a 44-32 margin before the halftime break.
Ayeni got his bearing at the onset of the third and ignited a 15-4 run to cut the deficit to a single basket 47-49 but the steady Mousa and company kept their foes at bay with an 8-2 third quarter finish to stay on top, 57-49 going into the final canto. Mousa and Erfan capped their splendid game with 25 points each while Boney Watson chipped in 20.
Earlier yesterday, Qatar Sports Club, starring Lamont Leslie, clobbered a hapless Al Ahli with a 23-13 output in the pay-off period to peg a convincing 85-64 victory and barge into the winner’s column after three outings.
Leslie, who took over the court leadership at Qatar this season after a stint with Rayyan in the previous season, played superb all-around game last night registering a season-high double-double of 33 points and 13 rebounds aside from dishing six assists and getting nine steals.
Qatar drew equally splendid performance from their big guys, Omar Seckand Eugene Moliva, who coincidentally had identical double-doubles of 18 points and 16 rebounds apiece. Hashim Zaidan and Youla Mohd Beka led Ahli with 21 and 18 points, respectively.
Action continues tonight at the Al Rayyan Indoor Arena featuring an anticipated fierce battle between current leaders Al Sadd and Al Arabi, both 3-0, in the main game at 7:00 pm.
The first match will have El Jaish gunning for its third win in the league against Al Shamal.
QMBL games will move back to Al Gharafa Sports Centre on Friday and will showcase matches between Al Wakra and Eljaish at 4:00pm and Rayyan versus Al Ahli at 8:00pm.
In between the QMBL games there will be a match between Filipino ball clubs under the Pinoy Basketball Qatar (PBAQ) League.
The Peninsula
