Ahli of Saudi Arabia booked its berth in the semifinals of the 28th GCC Clubs Handball Championship by beating Al-Najmah of Bahrain 36-26 at the Jeddah Indoor Hall of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare here Monday. Host Al-Ahli pressed for victory from the word go and led the first half 20-11. With this win, Al-Ahli ended the third round topping Group B. The match was so close and saw skilful moves from Al-Ahli players who were boosted by the support of their fans. Al-Najmah of Bahrain, although defeated, had earlier reserved its place in the semifinals. Al-Ahli started off with a tough 29-25 win over Al-Wasl of the UAE on Friday while the Bahrainis qualified to the semis through a 25-21 victory over Al-Ahli of Qatar on Thursday. Al-Ahli of Qatar won Al-Seeb of Oman 35-30 in a memorial match in the same group. Ten teams from across the GCC are taking part in the prestigious event. __
