Julius Coles scored a match-high 26 points, including 12 from three-pointers, as Al Wakrah outclassed Al Khor 88-69 in the opening match of the Qatar Cup at the Al Gharafa Sports Club yesterday.
Erfan Saeed Ali (19), Ousseynou Mbow (14) and Abdelrahman Abdelhaleem (12) provided him valuable support as Al Wakrah aced all quarters, holding the lead for about 38 minutes in the 40-minute match.
They were up 27-20 at the end of the first quarter and kept on stretching the lead throughout the game and by the time the match was into its final 10 minutes, they held a virtually unassailable 71-50 advantage.
Coles also had nine assists and four steals to his credit, while Erfan had a remarkably high 89% field goal success rate, scoring eight times from nine attempts, including six points from the three-point mark.
For Al Khor, Duda Sandze and Alvin Mofunanya scored 20 points each but even their best efforts could not make much a difference to their team’s fortunes.
In another match yesterday, Qatar Sports Club edged out Al Arabi 66-61 with Miroslav Todic top-scoring for the winners with 19 points.
Mohamed Abdulaziz and Baden Jaxen also excelled for Qatar Sports Club, scoring 15 apiece in a close match which saw Al Arabi leading 48-45 heading into the final quarter.
However, Qatar Sports Club scored 21 points while restricting their rivals to just 13 in the last 10 minutes to clinch a thrilling victory.
Sammy Monroe was the top scorer for Al Arabi with 20 points, while Ater Majok had 16.
Al Wakrah’s Julius Coles (left) attempts a shot during their Qatar Cup match against Al Khor at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall yesterday. (Right) Majok Ater of Al Arabi trying to defend Qatar Sports Club’s Miroslav Todic (No 34) during the second match of the day.
