MANAMA (Bahrain) - Sharjah (UAE) silenced the jam-packed Bahraini crowd at Isa Town Indoor Stadium by standing their ground and fending off the pesky home team of Al Manama (BRN) 82-74 to win the title game of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019 GBA Qualifiers. This completes a 6-game undefeated run in the tournament for Sharjah on their way to the title.

Sharjah had led for most of the game and by as much as 13, but Al Manama never backed down and even tied the game on a booming triple by Maciej Lampe early in the 4^th quarter.

(Marvelle Haris, Sharjah)

Sharjah’s Marvelle Harris went coast-to-coast for layup with just a bit over a minute left in the game, proving to be the final blow. Harris ended up playing all 40 minutes with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists to wrap up a spectacular campaign with the champions from UAE. Sharjah got big contributions from their tremendous trio of Harris, Tyler Wilkerson, and Jasim Abdalla with Wilkerson putting up 27 points and 10 boards to go with Abdalla’s 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Unsung hero Mahmoud Al-Sawan scored his only 8 points in the last 5 minutes with two clutch triples to help Sharjah seal the win.

Despite the loss, Al Manama didn’t disappoint their fans with their efforts and never backed down even after falling behind early on.

(Maciej Lampe, Al Manama)

Manama’s star center Maciej Lampe has been flirting with a triple-double in the previous games of the competition before finally recording the statistical achievement in the losing effort. His tremendous line of 29 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and shooting 3-5 from downtown is evidence that he put it all on the line for his team in this game. Terrico White also put in 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists while Maitham Isa’s 11 points made it close later in the game.

(Kevin Murphy, Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai)

The title game win for Sharjah was the second win by a UAE club in the day. Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai earlier won the third place game over Qatari club Al Shamal, 98-80. Al Ahli - Dubai’s Kevin Murphy was one rebound shy of a triple-double with 32 points, 9 boards, and 10 dimes. FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016 leading rebounder and FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017 leading scorer, Qais Omar Alshabebi, also put up 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Final Standings

1. Sharjah (UAE)
2. Al Manama (BRN)
3. Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai (UAE)
4. Al Shamal (QAT)