DOHA (Qatar): Al Gharafa dethroned Al Shamal 89-71 in the final on Sunday to win the Qatar Basketball League after a gap of eight years.
Al Shamal were aiming for a hat-trick of titles, but Gharafa were a difficult side to beat.
Qusay Hatem’s men was in great form in the competition, losing just once with proven players like Nedim Muslic and Franklin Session adding muscle to their attack.
Following the last few seasons where they came to close to winning the crown, this success would definitely boost their confidence to well in the future tournaments.
Gharafa started off well to take the first game 22-17 and were equally good in the second (23-10).
They came back in the third with more thrust (25-17). Shamal fought back in the last quarter (27-19), but that wasn’t enough to stop Qusay Hatem’s men.
Session top scored with 24 points followed by the hardworking Abdulrahman (22) while Arkaji was the pick of the players for Shamal with 21 points.
In the third-place match, Al Arabi beat Al Sadd to be third for the second time in a row.
