(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Chinthana Wasala / The Peninsula
Qatar was no match for Iraq in the final of the men's 3x3 basketball competition as an unstoppable Al Annabi team clinched the gold medal at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan yesterday.
Erfan Saeed accounted for the biggest portion of Qatari total with 11 points while star cager Tanguy Ngombo shot six points in his short stay of just over five minutes on court. Abdulrahman Saad added four points and a point from Nedim Muslic rounded up Qatar's total of 22 points. Their opponents could only post 12 points on the scoreboard as tournament favourites Qatar went on to win the top honours in the last event of the day.
Top scorer in the final, Saeed was jubilant over the mission which they were able to accomplish with ease.
'We came here to win it all and we succeeded in our mission. We all are very happy to have on the gold medal. Basketball is very popular in Qatar and tonight we added one more success to the book.
On his outstanding match, including consecutive two-point shots, Saeed said: 'I kept the best of myself for the end. Although we had to play two tough games in an evening we didn't feel pressure and proved our confidence.
'I am the captain of this team and have lots of experience. Today I decided to shoot from outside rather than go inside, in order to avoid their big guy. It worked, I think.
The losing captain of Ali Ismael, on winning the silver medal said: 'It is a big result, which makes us very proud. We didn't have such a success in the past and hopefully it will become a new starting point for 3x3 Basketball in our country.
'Qatar is a really excellent team. You can't play against them, because they are strong inside and outside. We tried to stop them, but it was impossible, he said.
Earlier, Qatar's billiard team clichéd the silver medal at the Ashgabat Games.
Iran overcame the Qatari outfit 3-0 in the final as Hossein Vafaei Ayouri sank the winning shot as he partnered Amir Sarkhosh in the doubles against Ali Nasser AL Obaidili and Ahmed Saif.
Ayouri dedicated yesterday's victory to his father after they made history to claim Iran's first gold medal in billiard at the Ashgabat 2017 Games.
Ayouri was introduced to Snooker at age six by his father Asghar, but he passed away nine years later and now everything is dedicated to his memory.
'Everything I have is from him and everything I learned, I learned from him, Ayouri said.
Qatar's Al Obaidili did not attempt to make any excuses for Qatar, saying the team was simply not focused.
'We did not play good or do anything in this match today. They played better and deserved it so fair enough.
'We were not on it. We did not play our game, we were switched off. I had one chance in the first frame and I didn't take it. They took their chances and we didn't and that's it.
So far, Qatar have bagged four gold medals, three silver and two bronze medals at the Ashgabat 2017 Games.
On Saturday, Qatar's star rider Hamad Ali Al Attiyah prevailed in a blistering round to strike gold in the Individual Jumping event of the equestrian competition. The Qatari rider also claimed silver in the Team event.
Earlier, Qatari athletes Jamal Hairane and Abdalelah Haroun also won gold medals while the men's 4x400m team which consisted of Hairane, Haroun, Mohamed Nasir Abbas and Ali Hassan Al Jassim won the silver medal.
Bronze medallists for Qatar are athlete Rashid Ahmed Al Mannai and taekwondo player Ali Juma Al Aaraimi.
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