Al Ahly Crowned Mortabat League Champions

Al Ahly Crowned Mortabat League Champions Al Ahly have narrowly beaten Ittihad of Alexandria to retain the Egyptian Basketball Mortabat League title for the second successive year. The Mortabat League is a competition that combines both the youth and first teams, with the winner of the youth match getting two points and three for the first team in case of a victory. Al Ahly had reached the final after knocking out El-Gezira in the semis while Ittihad, the most successful team in the country with eight Mortabat league titles, beat city rivals Smouha. The first-leg of the final took place last Monday and it saw the youth team of Al Ahly thrashing Ittihad, before the Greens beat Al Ahly 83-77 in the first team games. This meant that Al Ahly need to win both the youth match and the first one in the second leg that was played on Wednesday in order to clinch the league title. Al Ahly’s youth team didn’t have any trouble beating their opponents with a scoreline of 84-69, meaning the first-team game will decide who is the winner. The game was too close to call, with Al Ahly winning the first quarter 18-16, before Ittihad made a comeback in the second quarter to end the first-half 33-33. The Reds then totally dominated the third quarter as they entered the fourth and final one with a scoreline of nine-point lead (55-46). However, Ittihad didn’t give up and managed to near the gap to just one point, before a late wake-up call for Al Ahly saw them secure the game 69-67. The title is Al Ahly’s seventh Mortabat League, just one behind record holders Ittihad of Alexandria, and five more than third-placed Sporting. Moreover, Al Ahly have now won three trophies with head coach Augustí Julbe Bosch, who took charge of the team last July, with the Spaniard leading the Reds to the Arab Club Championship, Cairo League, and the Mortabat League.