Al Gharafa beat Al Shamal 88-77 to win Qatar Cup

DOHA: Al Gharafa completed a double when they defeated Al Shamal 88-77 for the second time in a week to win their fifth Qatar Cup on Wednesday.

Gharafa had beaten Qatar SC 83-72 in the semifinal while Al Shamal overcame Al Sadd 74-73 in the other last four game.

The reigning Qatar League champions were bolstered by a combined effort from Qatar international Abdulrahman Saad (23 points) and Muslic Nedim (16 points).

Shamal’s Lebanese international Wael Arkaji chipped in with 23 points.

“It was tiring as we have played three games in five days. Contrary to the league final, Shamal had their full team. But I think we played better,” Saad said.

Americans Franklin Session (15 points) and Tyler Harris (11 points) were the other scorers.

“It is an amazing win. Hats off to Shamal as they played very well today. They had us on the ropes for a while, but we stayed together and pulled it off,” Session said.

Gharafa, who had won the Qatar Cup in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016, had defeated Shamal on January 24 to win their second Qatar League title.

“We have now won two trophies this season. The credit goes to the players as they played like a unit throughout the season,” said Gharafa coach Qusay Hatem.