Justin Jamel Wright-Foreman, the MVP of the game, scored 32 points.
Doha, Qatar: Al Rayyan overcame Al Ahli with an 87-79 win to take a 1-0 lead in the play-offs of the Qatar Basketball Federation League yesterday night at Al Gharafa Sports Club.
Al Rayyan, entering the play-offs as the top-ranked side after a strong regular season, dominated in the start.
The 18-time champions took the opening quarter comfortably with a 23-16 scoreline before Al Ahli fought back in the next quarter.
Al Ahli battled back with a 24-19 win to narrow Al Rayyan’s lead by halftime, showing signs of stiff opposition.
The third quarter showed that neither side would give up without a fight.
Following a remarkable back-and-forth tussle, both teams matched each other in the third quarter which saw a scoreline of 22-22.
However, thanks to the strong opening quarter, Al Rayyan held a narrow two-point lead going into the final quarter (64-62) and they continue to extend the advantage in the remaining minutes.
Al Rayyan added 23 more points in the last quarter in contrast to Al Ahli’s 17 as the 18-time champions pulled off a win to secure the lead in the race to the final.
Justin Jamel Wright-Foreman, the MVP of the game, scored 32 points, while point guard Demarquis D’Angelo Bost delivered a remarkable triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Tyler James Lee Harris scored 16 points and made seven rebounds, while Abdulla Yassim Mousa added 15 points and made two rebounds and assist. Aladji Bobo Magassa also made valuable contributions with 13 rebounds apart from scoring four points.
For Al Ahli, Raekwon Deshawn Rogers led the scoring with 24 points and made 11 rebounds while Armin Daron Cane recorded 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.
With this victory, Al Rayyan march into the next play-off with high hopes on entering the title-showdown against either Al Sadd or Al Arabi. Both teams will now prepare for their second showdown on Thursday.
