Al Rayyan lift record 17th Qatar Basketball League title
DOHA: There was no stopping the Al Rayyan juggernaut as they defeated Al Sadd 2-0 in the best-of-three finals to win the Qatar League title for a record-setting 17th time at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall on Tuesday.
Al Rayyan, who swept to an easy 78-48 win in the first match, were pushed hard in the second (71-62). Though Al Sadd gave it their all to attempt a comeback, they fell just short.
Al Rayyan’s veteran player Yaseen Moussa was thrilled with the win. “This is my 17th League title for Al Rayyan. I’ve been playing for about 20 years for this club. I’m proud of this achievement. This is my last year as a player for Rayyan and I wanted to leave on a high,” he told Qatar Tribune.
Al Rayyan’s Greek coach Koufos Stergios credited the ‘family-like’ atmosphere within the team for the win.
“There were some tough moments during the match. If we hadn’t fought back like a family, it would’ve been impossible to win the League 2-0. Al Sadd, El Jaish and Gharafa are all top-quality teams. That’s why I'm so pleased with the way my team performed,” he said.
Qatar Basketball Federation President Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani gave away the prizes to the winners. Al Rayyan walked away with a QR600,000 purse while Al Sadd pocketed a cool QR400,000. El Jaish, who defeated Al Gharafa 83-66 in the third-place play-off, earned QR200,000.
Two more competitions remain in the domestic season — Qatar Cup and Emir’s Cup. Al Rayyan will take part in the GCC Club Championships as well.
Courtesy: Qatar Tribune
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