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Raajiv Tripathi
DOHA
Al Wakrah Club are relying on their current strong form and momentum to pull off another win against former seven-time champions Al Arabi Club and bag their maiden Qatar Basketball Federation League title on Saturday.
The final match is scheduled at 6 pm at the Al Gharafa Club Indoor Hall after the 2013-14 winners Al Gharafa Club clash with another seven-time champions Qatar Sports Club for third place at 4.30 pm.
Al Wakrah have beaten all but one team this season. The only outfit they could not topple during the two-phase round-robin league has been Al Arabi Club who bagged the first five league titles in a row (1981-82 to 1985-86) with their last victory coming in the 1993-94 season.
Al Arabi Club finished as winners in the Heir Apparent Cup twice and runners-up in the Emir Cup on three occasions. Compared to the opponents, Al Wakrah had just one Emir Cup final appearance to their credit in the 2000-01 season when they were beaten by Al Rayyan Club, who have also been 17-time league winners.
Al Wakrah coach Ihab Galal, talking ahead of the final said,"We've been playing solid basketball right now. Al Arabi Club are a tough side and anything is possible in the final."
Galal said his team has defeated all the strong teams except Al Arabi."We're prepared. We've the players with proven abilities. We showed it during the second round of the league and semi-final playoffs when we knocked out Al Gharafa 2-0."
His assistants Mahmoud Fawzi and Mahmoud Abdelatif said:"Rules changes like three professionals only and no more than three national players in a team helped all the small teams. Our professionals gelled well with the local players and we began to find our bearings in the second phase.
"In the first semi-final playoffs, we pulled 18 points clear at a stage before Al Gharafa hit back. However we came through. In the second, we were quite close to each other and we again hit the front at a vital stage and wrapped up a 2-0 win to move into the final."
After outclassing Al Khor 80-60 in the last first-round game, Al Wakrah stretched their winning streak to five. This helped them edge Al Ahli Club 94-92 in the closing moments of their the final second phase game, which blocked both Al Rayyan Club and Al Sadd Club from making the semi-final grade.
On the other hand, Al Arabi posted four wins in a row in the first phase and five back-to-back in the second to finish second behind leaders Al Gharafa Club (14 wins and 2 losses) with 12-4 a win-loss record. In the semi-final playoffs, Al Arabi Club needed to go down the wire to hold off Qatar Sports Club and make it to the league final for the first time in 24 years.
Al Arabi Club coach Hatem Mamlouk said,"We're delighted to reach the final after a very long time. The match no doubt will be tough. It is no surprise that we won the semi-final playoffs and made the grade after our strong run in the double round-robin phase.
"We've beaten Al Wakrah both the times we played this season. That certainly gives us a great deal of confidence. We have to play some serious basketball as this is a glorious opportunity for us to win the league after such a long gap," added the Tunisian mentor.
