AL Rayyan wins 16th Qatari title

Al Rayyan Club survived a late rally from El Jaish to win the Qatari D1 League for a sixteenth time and to make it eleven league triumphs from the last 13 seasons. The pressure was on the biggest club in Qatari Basketball as Al Rayyan was hot favourite to win back the league crown it let slip last season to Al Sadd.

El Jaish was chasing just its second D1 title after its maiden 2008 success, but in the end the underdog could not stop Al Rayyan running away with a 78-74 win. The game took place at the Al Gharafa Club Indoor Hall, the sixteen time champs showed their superiority early on and raced into a twenty point lead through half time. Not really a surprise for a club that became the first Qatari outfit to win the Arab Clubs Basketball Championship in 2014.

The game opened tight and the clubs shared the scoreboard four time in the first quarter, but it did not take long for Al Rayyan to pace in front. By the third act the team led by 23 points and looked to be cruising to the title.
However, El Jaish rallied behind a strong crowd that was getting behind the underdog, the club hit a 0-10 run and were suddenly back in contention. Jaish continued to draw nearer through the fourth quarter, but in the end Al Rayyan held on for the win.