Muscat: Al Bashayer achieved an exciting victory over the UAE's Al Wahda with a score of 102-101 on the second day of the Al Wahda International Basketball Tournament, held at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The tournament is organised under the sponsorship of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the supervision of the UAE Basketball Federation, Al Wahda Club, and 'Global Active Sports.'
The match was fiercely contested between the two teams, with regular time ending in a tie at 88-88. The teams went into a fifth overtime, where Al Bashayer secured the win by just one point. With this victory, Al Bashayer bounced back from their previous loss to Lebanon's Al Hikma in their first match.
In the beginning Al Bashayer found it difficult, as the team lost control of the first quartre, which ended with Al Wahda leading 28-15, benefiting from the collective harmony between its players.
In the second quarter, Al Bashayer regained some balance and began to show improvement in its offensive performance, but Al Wahda maintained its lead thanks to the speed of its players' movements and the accuracy of their shots from outside the arc. Despite Al Bashayer's attempts to reduce the difference, the Emirati team ended the first half with a 12-point lead, as the first half of the match ended with a score of 51-39 in favour of Al Wahda.
In the third quartre, Al Bashayer's performance witnessed a noticeable improvement, especially in the defensive aspects, as the Omani team reduced the difference to 6 points after the quarter ended with a score of 66-60 in favour of Al Wahda.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the competition became more intense, and the level of performance increased significantly for both teams.
Al Bashayer continued to apply pressure and succeeded in equalising the score at 78-78 two minutes before the end of the match, as the Omani team was fighting to get back into the match after being behind throughout the match.
In the final minutes of regular time, Shakir managed to score a decisive three-pointer to tie the score at 86-86, before the two teams tied again 88-88 in the final seconds, sending the match into overtime.
In overtime, the two teams continued to exchange scoring in tense moments, until Shakir managed to score the decisive winning basket before the end of the match, securing Al Bashayer’s victory with a score of 102-101.
Shakir shone remarkably in the match and was chosen as the best player and received his award from Obaid al Mahrazi, the sports director of Al Wahda Club.
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