Dubai: The UAE staged a remarkable recovery to overpower former champions Bahrain on the opening day of the 18th GCC Basketball Championships at the Al Nasr Club on Thursday.
Trailing till midway into the third quarter, the UAE delivered a true team effort to douse any hopes of a late fightback from Bahrain and win 74-68.
In an earlier match, Qatar beat Kuwait 81-53. Qatar, ranked second in Asia, will feature in the World Basketball Championships.
Earlier Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum opened the competition which is being held as part of the GCC Championships.
Bahrain led 40-33 at the end of the second quarter. But the third quarter witnessed a complete transformation as the young UAE side started gelling well.
"I think we were nervous in the first two periods," said Zoran Zupcevic, the UAE coach.
A couple of baskets from Ayoub Ahmad saw the home team draw close at 39-40 within a couple of minutes. Bahrain stayed away yet again on Ahmad Al Mutanah and Hussain Turki's conversions. But five minutes into the quarter, things came alive after the ever-reliable Khalifa Al Sheeba sunk two from outside the area to draw level at 50-50.
The UAE took a one-point lead on a charity conversion from Talal Salim. This lead seemed to have worked wonders for the hosts as a sudden unanswered burst saw them in control at 57-54 at the end of the third period.
Bahrain suddenly started making a lot of mistakes. Bahrain's Yasser Eisa scored a couple of three pointers late in the final quarter. But the damage had already been done with the UAE leading 72-59.
Bahrain did attempt a final push with two minutes remaining, to trail by four points. But a timely basket from Ahmad improved the distance and gave the UAE a well-deserved win.
