Egyptian side Zamalek were crowned African champions for the ninth time in their history when they comfortably defeated Tunisia's Club Africain 35-22 in the African Champions League final in Morocco on Friday. Zamalek had the upper hand in most parts of the game after briefly falling behind early in the first half, producing another powerful display to build on thrilling wins over Cairo rivals Ahly and Tunisia's Esperance in the quarter and semi finals respectively. They led 17-14 at halftime and widened the gap in the latter stages of the second half to 13 goals. Zamalek's last Champions League triumph was in 2011 when they defeated Tunisia's Etoile Sahel in the final in Nigeria's Kaduna. The previous two finals were also Egyptian-Tunisian duels, with Ahly losing both to Esperance and Club Africain in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The White Knights closed to within two titles of record winners GS Petroliers of Algeria, who won the trophy 11 times. They will play in next year's IHF Super Globe, a competition contested between the champion clubs from continental confederations. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/162246.aspx