The game could have gone either way but Riyadh Stars, their collective backs to the wall after a loss away to Dammam Oilers, seemed to want it more and won the evening thriller in the TFC Kingdom Cup semifinals basketball tournament before another overflow crowd at the Sheraton Sport Complex court last Friday.
The Stars, who have had to request practice at 5 in the morning just hours after arriving from Riyadh Thursday night to underline the urgency of their mission, edged out the FBA Vipers 90-88 in a down to the wire contest.
Cat-quick guard Raymond Alcasabas delivered the lethal blows for the visitors, hitting 20 points including a critical basket in the last 28 seconds to go with five assists and six rebounds.
Big men Roel Asay and James Smith both threw their weight around in the shaded area to score 19 and 17 points with 6 and 10 rebounds respectively for the Stars who engaged the hosts in a whale of a battle to the delight of the basketball-batty OFWs.
The deadly Riyadh trio created problems for Jeddah Vipers coach Boy “4GS” Corsega who is expected to make adjustments to try and win the teams’ return bout next Friday in Riyadh.
Premier point guard Robby David, the Vipers’ go-to guy, delivered a double-double performance of 21 points and 10 assists including two pinpoint passes that set up Morsie Akad and Joseph Ubalde with last-gasp threes that kept the game interesting to the very end.
Akad, his game finally coming together in his last two starts, had 21 points including five from beyond the arc. Ubalde also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with 4 assists.
The result left all three teams tied at 1-1at the end of the first phase of the double round robin home-and-away semis and threw the race wide open for the two championship spots. At this stage, however, the Oilers have +8, Vipers 0 and Stars –8 in the tiebreak points system in case it needed to be applied when this round to pick the two finalists is ended.
The Vipers who won their first semifinal game away to the Oilers erased a 13-point first quarter deficit and, thanks to their resiliency, would counter with a run of their own each time the enemy pulls away.
The Vipers led for the first time, 42-40, at the end of the second quarter courtesy of Ron Magat basket and a three by Akad.
A 13-0 blast by Asay, Alcasabas and Smith pulled the Stars to a nine-point lead at 60-51 from 51-47 before Francis Magat’s Vipers starring Ubalde, Ryan Aguam and David regrouped to make it 70-63 at the close of the third period.
For a while it looked like the Stars were in control of the game after securing an 80-76 lead at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, as they fought Stars in vicious exchanges that had the crowd roaring especially when Akad hit back-to-back threes that gave the lead back to Vipers 75-74 from 74-69.
Paolo Malonzo converted his three-pointer to spark an 11-2 Stars rally that ended when Alcasabas spun around Akad on the left side and hit a pullup jumper that eased the pressure off his team 87-82 with 28 ticks left.
On the next trip, David found Akad open on the left side for a three 87-85. Malonzo was then fouled by Ubalde and made the free throws with 13 seconds left before Ubalde kept the Vipers’ hopes alive by converting a pass from David at the top of the key, time down to 3.5 seconds.
Trying to stop the clock, Aguam fouled Malonzo with 7 tenths of a second left. Malonzo made his first free-throw but missed the second. Smith rebounded Malonzo’s miss but his shot failed to beat the buzzer and was nullified setting the final score.
Stars stay alive with 90-88 win over Vipers
Stars stay alive with 90-88 win over Vipers
Al-Qadsiah hold Al-Hilal to 2-2 draw in thrilling SPL encounter
- Al-Hilal drop points for the second consecutive game as their lead at the summit is cut to three points
- Julian Quinones moves ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the scoring charts with his 17th goal of the campaign
RIYADH: The Saudi Pro League title race is officially wide open after Al-Qadsiah held Al-Hilal to a pulsating 2-2 draw at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahad Stadium in Dammam. A late equaliser by Salem Al-Dawsari salvaged a point for the league leaders, after Koen Casteels had repeatedly denied him throughout the contest.
Al-Hilal began the match targeting what is usually one of Al-Qadsiah’s strong points. Mohammed Abou Al-Shamat has been a major threat down the right flank this season, but the space he left behind allowed Al-Dawsari to attack that channel early on.
By the eighth minute, Al-Hilal won a corner from that side, and Ruben Neves stunned Casteels with his delivery. The Portuguese midfielder aimed directly at goal, with the ball striking the post before ricocheting off the goalkeeper and into the net.
Al-Qadsiah responded immediately. Musab Al-Juwayr — facing his boyhood club — threaded an accurate pass behind Pablo Mari, who failed to deal with Nahitan Nandez, as the Uruguayan slotted home the equaliser.
The visitors looked to strike back swiftly once more, but this time Al-Qadsiah stood firm. Malcom squared Darwin Nunez for a shot on goal only for Jehad Thekri to block the effort, before Casteels followed up with a strong save to prevent Al-Dawsari on the next attack.
Tempers flared in the 20th minute when Mohammed Kanno and Nandez were both booked by the referee following a heated exchange on the touchline.
Despite playing away from home, it was Al-Hilal that took greater control of the game. Mateo Retegui and Julian Quinones struggled to impose themselves in first half, while Al-Dawsari continued to stretch Al-Qadsiah’s back line.
Early in the second half, Al-Hilal capitalised on their momentum. Al-Dawsari drove into the box only to be brought down for a penalty in the 50th minute. The captain stepped up himself, but Casteels once again came out on top with a save.
The Belgian goalkeeper remained defiant in the 72nd minute, denying a curling effort from Malcom after Theo Hernandez surged forward from deep to start the move.
Al-Qadsiah then swung the momentum in their favour. In the 77th minute, Al-Juwayr delivered a pinpoint corner that was powered home by Quinones, taking him to 17 league goals for the season.
Al-Hilal pressed relentlessly for an equaliser, and it arrived in dramatic fashion in the dying minutes of the game. Al-Dawsari finally got the better of Casteels, when he capitalised on a free-kick cleared his way from the edge of the box to send the away fans into a frenzy.
Stoppage time saw both sides go at it, with the clearest chance falling to Nandez, whose delicate chip over Yassine Bounou drifted inches wide in the 95th minute before the final whistle sounded.
Al-Qadsiah’s inability to claim all three points means the gap to Al-Hilal is reduced to six points rather than three. Al-Ahli, currently second, now sit just three points off the summit ahead of their clash with Al-Hilal on Monday in Riyadh.
Earlier in the evening, Al-Ittihad travelled to Al-Hasa for a thrilling encounter with Al-Fateh that ended in 2-2 draw. In the absence of Karim Benzema, Saleh Al-Shehri scored a brace only for Matias Vargas’ dagger to deny the visitors the three points.
Meanwhile, a hat-trick by Carlos Junior put Al-Shabab back on track after a 4-0 victory against Al-Hazem.
Action resumes on Friday to conclude Matchday 19, with Al-Taawoun hosting Al-Okhdood at 6:50pm, followed by NEOM vs. Damac and Al-Kholood vs. Al-Nassr at 8:30pm. Victory will be crucial for Al-Nassr, as three points would put them within touching distance of the league leaders.
