Syria’s Al Jalaa hand UAE’s Al Shabab their fourth straight loss: 2011 Asia FIBA Championship Cup
Marcelle Yaqqub landed a team-high 23 points to power Al Jalaa of Syria to a comprehensive 93-63 win over the UAE’s Al Shabab in the Round 4 of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship Cup. Al Jalaa clinched the quarterfinals berth after
the smashing victory while Al Shabab became the first team to be knocked out of the Group B and the tournament after losing all of the four games.
Ahmad Omer, Shabab’s coach said after the game, “We came from a tough schedule in GCC followed by the Arab clubs event. And then it was like baptism by fire in our group. All the four other teams in our Group are far better than
us in all departments. But even then, I think we fought very well against Mahram. So there are a lot of positives we are taking from here,”
Five players from the Syrian team landed double figures. Jamaal Miller was the second best performer in the line-up with 14 points and 8 boards.
Rashed Al Zaabi and Fields Courtney were the only players in the Al Shabab’s line-up to put up an upright performance as rest of the players failed to lend any support. Zaabi racked up a game-high 24 points while Courtney concluded
the game with 21 points.
Al Jalaa romped to a 21-11 run in the starting 8 minutes of the first quarter from where the Syrian outfit never dropped the double figure lead. By the time, the teams headed into the interval, the Al Jalaa were already leading
by 13. And this was just a sign of things to come.
Syrian team showed no signs of retreat in the third quarter as well and continued to amplify the lead, leaving very few options for the opposition to gain any sort of momentum. Al Jalaa showcased a brilliant teamwork and took their
lead to 70-47 before entering the final quarter.
The fourth period was more of a formality for the streaking Jalaa but they weren’t finished just yet. They did not let their guard down and tore apart the Al Shabab’s defence in the fourth quarter to romp to a 30 point win.
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