Road To WASL Final 8 2023 Dubai: Kuwait Club

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The Road to Dubai for Kuwait Club has certainly not been an easy one, but it’s one that they were able to navigate through unscathed.

The club has proven itself to be a Kuwaiti basketball powerhouse and is now on a mission to solidify its status as a force to be reckoned with at a regional level as well.

HISTORY

As a sports club, Kuwait Club have a lengthy history in the country as they were founded just over 60 years ago. They found early success in football - where they are the oldest football club in the nation. Then they began succeeding on the hardwood as well, starting in the 2000s and really picking up momentum in the late 2010s.

PAST SUCCESS

Like all great teams, Kuwait Club had to battle their recurring demons before their ascension to the level where they are now.

They were already a dominant team in the 2000s and had gone through a few regular seasons undefeated, but were only able to claim one Kuwaiti Division 1 League title during that decade in 2004. In other years, they ended up having their hearts broken time and again by rivals Al Qadsia and even WASL-Gulf counterparts Kazma.

However, once they found their way over the hump, they’ve remained at the top of Kuwait basketball. Since winning their second Division 1 title in 2013, Kuwait Club has won 7 more titles with 4 straight championships since 2020.

Now that they’ve convincingly conquered the local basketball scene, Kuwait Club are trying to expand their success to the international level. It’s been quite a run.

After finishing as runners-up in the Arab Club Basketball Championship 2021, Kuwait Club returned for the 2022 edition and went on an undefeated run to win it all.

From there, as we all know, Kuwait Club then went on to win the first-ever WASL-Gulf title in a run that might be unrivaled for years to come.

 

HOW DID THEY GET HERE?

Kuwait Club made their way through to WASL Final 8 by being downright dominant in WASL-Gulf. Sure, there were some close games early on, but in the end, Kuwait Club played through 10 games without suffering a single loss. The margins of victory got wider and wider as the season progressed.

Al Hilal and Al Manama threw their best punches Kuwait Club’s way, but coach Peter Schomers squad always seemed to have answers for their foes. Kuwait Club easily clinched their Final 8 ticket after beating Al Hilal in the Semis and proceed to win it all later against Manama in the Final.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The beauty of Kuwait Club’s strength is that they do not have a player that stands out individually relative to the rest.

Marcus Georges-Hunt was great throughout WASL-Gulf and seemed to have even shifted up a gear during the Finals. Cady Lalanne was the dominant force down low as he led the team in scoring (20.8 per game) and rebounds (11.8 per game). Both Lalanne and Georges-Hunt shot over 55 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the three-point line.

Then you have the Hasan brothers who chipped in with their all-around game, maybe a bit more notably Hamad Hasan who led the team in assists (4.7 per game). Turki Alshemmari, Omran Jawhar, and Mustafa Matwali all had their moments throughout the season as well.

However, none of these players had to single-handedly dominate a game to keep Kuwait Club undefeated.

Still, coach Schomers is expecting the level of competition to be a bit higher at WASL Final 8 which is why the team has decided to reinforce their paint presence by bringing in recent FIBA Asia Cup champion Thon Maker to the team. They are sacrificing some scoring from Jacob Pullen with this move, but it’s one that gives them more size as they are expected to go up against bigger and more physical teams.

 

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