Action from the match between El Jaish (in white) and Al Shamal in the Qatar Basketball League yesterday. PICTURE: Othman Khalid

By Sports Reporter/Doha


Vernon Leon Macklin and Alex Charles Legion scored 21 points each as El Jaish beat Al Shamal 75-64 during their Qatar Men’s Basketball League match at Al Gharafa Sports Club here yesterday.
Jaish did well in the first half to claw back from an 8-13 deficit to level things out at 34-all going into the break.
Macklin, Legion & Co. pulled away from Shamal 25th minute onward before closing the game out with an 11-point lead.
While Legion, had four two-pointers, three three-pointers and four free throws to his name, Macklin came up with six two-pointers and nine free throws besides 10 rebounds. The other Jaish player to get into double figures was Fadi Hani Abilmona with 10 points.
For Shamal, Abdulqadir Kosar was the top-scorer with 18 points, while Mohamed Kamal Hachad and Alvin Mofunancy added 17 and 16 points respectively. Khalid Abdalla Mohamed Adam pitched in with 10 points.
Khalid Suliman Abdi was the top-scorer with 26 points, but that wasn’t enough as Al Rayyan beat Al Sadd 65-60 in a close game.
Sadd led for bulk of the game, 32 minutes and 26 second to be precise, but Rayyan, led by James Dominic Davon and Tanguy Alban Ngombo, took the initiative in the crucial moments of the game to take a five-point win.
The five-point lead at the end of the 40 minutes was the biggest advantage the winners had in the entire game.
Davon’s 24 points came from a two-pointer, four three-pointers and four free-throws, while Ngombo had three two-pointers and four three-pointers to his name.
For Sadd, Abdi scored two-pointers, two three-pointers and four free-throws. The other player to get into double digits was Erfan Ali Saeed with 15 points.
The league is in action tomorrow with Al Arabi taking on Qatar SC in the first match at 5:15pm, while Al Wakrah faces Al Khor at 7:15pm.