"Bahrain to hot for Oman (by Yousef Ahmed)
BAHRAIN crushed Oman 110-52 to claim their first victory in the basketball competition of the 19th Gulf Cup, being played in Oman, writes PATRICK SALOMON. The victors revived their slim medal hopes with the result, and also virtually secured their qualification for the Fiba Asia Championship for Men, to be played in China in August later this year.
Bahrain thoroughly outclassed the hosts in the game, played at Muscat's Nizwa Sports Complex. The 58-point winning margin was also their biggest lead of the contest, and it bettered the 49-point (102-53) thrashing the Omanis received from defending champions the UAE earlier this week.
The Emiratis, meanwhile, were stunned in yesterday's other game by Kuwait, who won a squeaker 68-66. It was the Kuwaitis' second triumph in the competition, as they almost certainly secured second spot ahead of the UAE and now trail only undefeated title-favourites Qatar.
Bahrain's win was a pleasant turn-around from their opening night loss to Kuwait, when they looked to be a completely different team.
The nationals, coached by Brazilian Walter Pereira, played with a quick pace, pushing the tempo at every opportunity while using quick ball movement in the half-court set to thwart the opposing defence. On the other end, they did an excellent job preventing penetration and had complete control on the defensive glass, holding the Omanis to just one attempt per possession.
The Bahrainis were also quick to switch defenders when needed, giving their opponents no easy looks at the basket.
Bahrain raced out to a quick lead at the start of the game, and never took their foot off the gas whether playing with their starting five or bench squad. They scored 26 points in the first quarter alone, while holding Oman to just 12.
Star players Mahmood Ghuloom (187-G-79), Ahmed Al Mutawa (199-F/C-81, college: Broward CC), and Hussain Shaker spearheaded their strong performance coming out of the gate, which helped them go up 51-30 at the interval.
Bahrain looked even stronger starting the second half, greatly adding to their advantage with a 37-point third period.
Ghuloom, Mohammed Hussain, and Ahmed Abdulaziz were the protagonists. Ghuloom scored on a breakaway lay-up with less than two minutes to go in the period to take an 84-43 advantage - the first time they went ahead by 40 or more points. Hussain then converted his own fast-break lay-up before the quarter buzzer to put the Bahrainis ahead 88-44 heading into the final canto.
Starting the fourth, Sadeq Mahdi buried a long three-pointer to put Bahrain ahead by 47 (91-44), and then baskets from Abdulaziz and Omran Abdulredha on their next two possessions gave them their first 50-point lead of the game (96-46) with more than half the period still remaining.
Al Mutawa later put his stamp on the proceedings, scoring on an uncontested tomahawk slam dunk in transition for a 102-52 lead with two minutes left. He scored 7 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Ahmed Malallah (188-F-71) Dominated throughout the game Leading his team while Mohammed Qurban and Mohammed Quwayed then made their own contributions to Bahrain's end-game assault, before Al Mutawa made one of two free-throws with 20 seconds remaining to peg the final score and cap the lopsided win.
Ghuloom finished with 19 points leading all scorers for Bahrain, who had another five players in double figures. Abdulaziz added 16 while Malallah and Shaker had 13 apiece. Hussain pitched in with 12 points and Qurban 11.
All of Bahrain's players received minutes in the game. The nationals next face off with Qatar tomorrow, while Oman take on Kuwait".
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