MUSCAT, AUGUST 27
The Salalah girls’ basketball team achieved a remarkable accomplishment by securing third place in the Fatima Bint Mubarak Gulf Basketball Academy Cup for Women, held in Abu Dhabi. This achievement came after Salalah's exciting victory against the Fatima Academy team with a score of 52-39. The Kuwaiti team, Al Qurain, clinched first place, while the Qatari club, Al Gharafa, took second place.
Salalah’s participation in this tournament reflects the Oman Basketball Association's commitment to developing women’s sports and its support for female talents in sports clubs. Salalah Club was nominated to participate in this tournament after achieving first place in the overall ranking of the 2023 Oman Women's Sports Games.
In the interesting match, Sarah Abdullah opened the scoring for Fatima Academy with a free throw. However, Marwa al Ajmi quickly responded by scoring a point from a free throw for Salalah. The pressure continued from Salalah players, as Marwa al Ajmi and Noor al Kharousi were able to add four points, raising the score to 5-1 in favour of Salalah. Zeina Batash was able to increase the difference by scoring two additional points, and despite the attempts of the Fatima Academy players to come back in the match, the first quarter ended with Salalah leading 12-9.
In the second quarter, Shams al Duha al Khenji started by scoring a wonderful three-pointer, which increased the difference in favour of Salalah. But Hayat al Maskari quickly responded by scoring two points, then Noor al Kharousi added three more points for Salalah. Despite the attempts of the Fatima Academy players to reduce the difference, Ghadeer Nasser was able to score two points, and Shams al Duha added another three-pointer, making the score 22-13 for Salalah. At the end of the quarter, Fatima Academy made a comeback scoring 10 consecutive points, to end the second quarter with a 23-22 lead.
In the third quarter, the fierce competition continued between the two teams, as the players exchanged points. Noor al Kharousi managed to score a three-pointer for Salalah in the eighth minute, bringing the score to 35-33. At the end of the quarter, Shams al Duha added a point from a half basket, ending the third quarter with Salalah leading 36-33.
In the fourth and final quarter, Shams al Duha widened the gap for Salalah by scoring two points. Despite Fatima Academy players' attempts to reduce the difference, Salalah's defences were cohesive, preventing them from returning to the match. Ruba al Kalbani added two points for Salalah from a quick counter-attack, bringing the score to 41-34. Shams al Duha continued to shine by scoring five consecutive points, enabling Salalah to maintain their lead until the end of the match, which ended with a 52-39 victory.
In their semifinal, Salalah lost against Al Gharafa 53-31.
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