Alkass Digital
Former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Vander Lee Blue II scored 18 points while Faisal Nabil Abuissa and Waverly Samuel Austin added 15 each as defending champions Al Sadd racked up their first points in this season’s Amir Cup Basketball Championship with a dominant 97-67 win over Al Khor, yesterday.
At Al Gharafa Sports Club Indoor court, Vander Lee made also made three rebounds and seven assists during his 30-minute stay. The 24-year-old Qatar international Abuissa made two rebounds and four assists while the 6’11” tall Germany-American Austin made 17 rebounds and three assists to help the reigning champions during their first game in the competition.
Al Sadd gained a comfortable 28-18 lead in the opening period and continued to progress towards the halfway mark, adding another 28 points while Al Khor only managed to score 13 in the second quarter.
By the end of the third quarter, scores read 76-50 in favour of Al Sadd, before they added 21 more points in contrast to Al Khor’s 17 in the final period.
The victory put Al Sadd in third position in Group 1, which is led by Al Ahli, who have won both of their matches. Al Shamal who had won one match before going down to Al Ahli in a thriller yesterday, are in the second spot.
Al Ahli beat Al Shamal 83-80 yesterday with D'mitrik Alexander Trice making a brilliant contribution, adding 36 points while making four rebounds and 10 assists.
Stephen Chukwuemeka Ugochukwu added 16 points to Al Ahli’s score, while making 11 rebounds. Fotios Lampropoulos also made a notable performance, making 14 rebounds.
Today, Al Arabi will take on Al Rayyan (5:00pm tip off) and Al Wakrah will face Qatar SC in their respective Group B matches.
The group stage will conclude on June 10, while the semi-finals are scheduled for June 12. The final will take place on June 15.