Muscat: Seeb Club opened their 2026 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth Basketball Shield campaign with a well-deserved 82–60 victory over Nizwa Club in a match held at the secondary hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher on Tuesday, marking a strong start that underlined their readiness to compete for the title.
The encounter was competitive and entertaining, but Seeb asserted their dominance early through organised defence and quick offensive transitions, allowing them to control the first three quarters. Scoring duties for Seeb were shared by Jawad Atkoya, Mazin al Hadidi, Mamadou Badji, Abdulrahman al Shueibi and Rashid al Zuhaibi, while Nizwa relied on professional Ajassil Tonyon alongside Mohammed al Anqoodi, Adam al Hinai and Kingsley.
Seeb began aggressively and struck first with two points, before Nizwa responded quickly with a three-pointer from Ajassil to edge ahead 3–2. Rashid al Zuhaibi levelled the score, but Nizwa briefly regained the lead through Qasim al Qasimi. The tempo soon intensified as Seeb regained control, extending their advantage through baskets from Mamadou, Zakariya al Wahaibi and Al Zuhaibi to move ahead 12–5.
The momentum continued with end-to-end action. Mamadou added further points, while Nizwa scored from the free-throw line through Basil al Subhi. Hassan al Faraji then widened the gap for Seeb as both teams traded baskets, before Seeb closed the first quarter comfortably ahead at 28–13.
Seeb maintained their superiority in the second quarter, opening with five straight points from Mazin al Hadidi. Mamadou followed with a three-pointer, capitalising on Nizwa’s defensive struggles to stretch the lead further. Despite Nizwa’s attempts to reduce the deficit, Seeb headed into halftime with a commanding 55–26 advantage.
Nizwa showed improvement in the third quarter, tightening both defence and attack to score 14 points. However, Seeb remained composed offensively, adding 15 points to keep the gap intact and finish the quarter ahead 69–40.
In the final period, Nizwa displayed a strong fighting spirit and delivered their best scoring run with 20 points, compared to Seeb’s 12. Nevertheless, the earlier deficit proved too large to overcome, and Seeb comfortably secured the win at 82–60.
The match was officiated by international referee Rashid al Mushaifri as the first referee, Mazin al Hilali as the second referee and Taha al Amri as the third referee. The scoring table included Maryam al Zadjali, Aisha al Balushi and Hafiz Awlad Ahmed, with Eng Younis al Zadjali serving as technical supervisor.
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