Finals set to tip-off with Kuwait Club and Manama in WASL Gulf, Gorgan and Al Riyadi in WASL West Asia

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The inaugural seasons of WASL Gulf and WASL West Asia are heading to the last stage as the Finals of each league are set to tip-off.

Both Finals series are decided in a Best-of-3 format.

In WASL Gulf, it will be a clash between Kuwait Club and Al Manama.

Kuwait Club are the lone undefeated team in WASL, going through the Group Phase with six straight victories before sweeping Shabab Al Ahli 2-0 in the Semi-Finals. They are the highest-scoring team (99.3 points per game) and doing so with the best efficiency (49.0 field goal percentage), potentially making them the favorites heading into the Finals.

Al Manama took the longer route to get here, but being that much more battle-tested might be what they need. The club from Bahrain played through the Qualification to the Semi-Finals, beating Kazma 2-1, and then took down Al Hilal in the Semi-Finals in a 2-0 sweep. They made some personnel changes late in the season, notably the addition of Lamont Jones, which has worked very well for the team so far.

The two teams faced each other twice in the Group Phase with Kuwait Club winning on both occasions, but it will be a whole new series here with the first-ever WASL Gulf title on the line.

Game 1 of the WASL Gulf Finals will be played on 9 May at 20:00 (GMT +3) in Kuwait City, Kuwait at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex.
Game 2 will then be played on 15 May at 20:00 (GMT +3) in Manama, Bahrain at Khalifa Sport City.
If necessary, Game 3 will be played on 22 May at 22:00 (GMT +3.5) and will return to Kuwait City, Kuwait at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex.

In WASL West Asia, Gorgan will face Al Riyadi in what should be an intense Finals clash between two proud teams. 

There is already a lot of anticipation around this matchup as the two have played against each other twice in the Group Phase, resulting in two exciting games where both teams split the wins on their home courts.

Gorgan lost to Al Riyadi in the season-opening game, but from there, they have yet to lose again. They went up against Iranian rivals ZobAhan in the Semi-Finals and fought back rally after rally, still emerging as victors in the Semi-Finals clash in a 2-0 sweep. If anything, Gorgan are one of the most consistent teams in the competition, led by Behnam Yakhchali and Mohammad Jamshidi.

Al Riyadi had to fight through 3 tough games against Orthodox Amman in the Qualification to the Semi-Finals Round before sweeping Lebanese rivals Beirut Club 2-0 in the Semi-Finals itself. Riyadi has plenty of star power in Wael Arakji, Kevin Murphy, and Amir Saoud, and now is the time when they have to make it all click.

Game 1 of the WASL West Asia Finals will be played on 11 May at 18:00 (GMT +3.5) in Tehran, Iran at Azadi Basketball Hall.
Game 2 will then be played on 17 May at 21:45 (GMT +3) in Manara, Lebanon at Saeb Salam.
If necessary, Game 3 will be played on 24 May at 22:00 (GMT +3.5) and will return to Tehran, Iran at Azadi Basketball Hall.

FIBA