Al Shamal’s Nwigwe Mezie (left) and Al Wakra’s Ayeni Olatukombo in action during their Qatar Basketball League match at the Al Gharafa Indoor Arena yesterday. Pictures by: Salim Matramkot RIGHT: Al Ahli Club’s Sarr Ibou (right) and Qatar Sports Club’s Seck Oumar in action during their match yesterday.
By Danotzki Santos
Doha: Al Wakra got the better of Shamal, 82-60, in the Qatar Basketball League (QBL) at the Al Gharafa Indoor Arena here yesterday.
Al Wakra controlled the game from the start, pegging a 19-13 margin right at the end of the first period behind the outside sniping of the prolific duo of Ayeni Olatukombo and Temi Soyebo.
With Mezie Nwigwe and Tyvon William getting to work, Al Shamal crawled back into contention and grabbed the upperhand 21-19 via 8-0 blitz early in the second period.
Wakra would however come on stronger in the remainder of the period to establish a 37-31 advantage before the half time break.
Abdelrahman Soliman opened the third quarter with a try and as Soyebo and Ayeni were having a field day from the outside, the southerners started pulling away and eventually finished the third period soaring away 60-43.
From a 17-point bulge before the final stage, Wakra continued the onslaught and doused every inch of their rivals attempt to come back. The lead went as high as 24 points.
Al Wakra took their 5th win in 15 outings while Shamal suffered their 12th defeat against three wins.
In the second game, Al Ahli shrugged off their losing skid and finally barged into the winners’ column with a 71-64 spanking of Qatar Sports Club. The black shirts sorely missing the services of ace gunner Chauncey Leslie, put on a strong stand but their efforts waned as the game reached the playoff period. Al Ahli now have a 2-13 win loss scorecard.
Qatar Club dropped to 3-12.
Games resume on January 29 at Al Gharafa Indoor Hall, with Shamal and Al Gharafa locking horns at 5:15 pm, while Al Wakra face Qatar Club in the main game at 7:15 pm.the peninsula
