Morocco's Salé qualified for the Arab Clubs Final for the fifth time after defeating the African champions Al-Ahly of Egypt 85/78 to face Beirut tonight for the thirty-fifth title. Salé deserved this victory because they did not give up after falling behind in some periods of the first half by 17 points, but rather fought until the end and the word was at the beginning of the third quarter, at a time when Al-Ahly’s performance declined as a result of repeated mistakes and overconfidence exploited by the first star of the match, Raymond, a professional from Sale, recording the highest score of 31 points. In terms of numbers, free throws played a major role in tipping the balance in favor of the Moroccan team, as they scored 31 shots out of 36, compared to 13 for Al-Ahly from 25. Also, Sale scored 24 points from inside the area out of 47 attempts under the basket, compared to 16 for Al-Ahly from 34 attempts. Sale also excelled in the rebound, achieving 45. Follow-ups, including 35 in defense, compared to 42 for Al-Ahly, including 28 in defense.
Lebanese-Moroccan final
On the other hand, the curtain falls today on the tournament, with a match between Kuwait and Al-Ahly of Egypt at 16:00 Qatar time for third and fourth places, followed by Beirut and Salé at 18:30 to determine the champion. Major General Ismail Al-Karkawi, President of the Arab and Emirati Basketball Federations, will crown the winning team with the gold medal.
العربية