Shabab Al Ahli retain the Vice President's Cup

Shabab Al Ahli retained the H.H. the Vice President's Cup in its 17th edition, beating Al Wasl 103-91 in the final at the Saeed bin Maktoum Hall at Shabab Al Ahli club in Al Mamzar. Al Wasl finished runners-up; Sharjah took third by beating Al Bataeh 76-69, and Al Nasr fifth after beating visitors Al Dhafra 88-49.

The champions were presented with the trophy by Abdullatif Al Fardan, accompanied by members of the federation's board.

Shabab Al Ahli imposed themselves from the start, taking the first quarter 31-22 through the form of imports Nicholas Minnerath and Daniel Lewis alongside Hamed Abdullatif, Qais Omar, Saeed Mubarak and Talal Salem. They stretched the lead to 16 at 59-43 after winning the second quarter 28-21 — the same score by which they took the third, opening a 23-point gap at 87-64.

Al Wasl worked hard to close the gap with serious efforts from their professional Lemon and their Emirati players led by Khalid Khalifa and Younes Khamis, but ran into a Shabab Al Ahli side that held its level throughout. Al Wasl took the final quarter 27-16, a consolation that did not change a 12-point margin.