By Danotzki Santos
DOHA: Qatar SC collected seven straight points and blanked Al Shamal in the endgame to register a 79-73 victory, in the Qatar Basketball League (QBL) at the Al Gharafa Sports Stadium yesterday.
Qatar SC squandered a 13-point lead established early in the final quarter of the match.
They fell behind at 72-73 as the game entered its last two minutes of the match.
But Qatar SC got their bearings together just in time to salvage the win.
Leslie La Mont was steady on all fronts during this team’s match.
La Mont led the winners tally with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Mezie Nwigwe had a double-double of 34 points and 11 rebounds.
In the other QBL match to take place yesterday, Al Sadd raced to their sixth straight win via 79-44 rout of a struggling Al Ahli Club.
The win takes Al Sadd to the top of the standings, with whom they share with Al Rayyan.
A blow-out from the start, the defending Emir Cup champions erected a 20-9 early lead before going 38-18, at half-time.
Al Ahli put up a token stand in the third quarter as they managed to cut the deficit at the close of the third at 52-36.
However, Al Sadd turned the heat on in the last 10 minutes and soared to their biggest lead at the buzzer.
Michael Benjamin Southall dominated the game and lorded the shaded lane collecting 22 of his total 25 points from inside.
QBL games continue tomorrow with another double-header.
Defending champions and current joint league-leaders Al Rayyan will face Heir Apparent titlists Al Arabi in the the first match at 5:00pm.
In the other QBL match, Emir Cup winners Al Sadd will try to stretch their winning streak to seven matches as they face Al Gharafa in the late match.
On Wednesday, Al Ahli face Al Shamal at 5:00pm, and Qatar SC clash against Al Warah at 7:00pm.
Both of tomorrow’s and Wednesday’s matches will take place at Al Gharafa Sports Stadium. THE PENINSULA
