FIBA Basketball
WASL Power Rankings: Season 1, Volume IX
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The Power Rankings have been here before we head into what should be a drama-filled week in WASL.
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - We're about to head into the last game day and even though there has been a lot resolved in terms of teams advancing to the Final Phase and teams locking up Semi-Finals spots, it's still far from over.
The Power Rankings have been here before we head into what should be a drama-filled week in WASL.
Reminder: These are not the official rankings. Power Rankings are just here to reflect on a team's current form and not based entirely on their records in WASL.
Team |
Movement |
|
14 Al Bashaer |
Al Basher do not have much to play for but pride as they can no longer advance to the Final Phase. Their only shot to get a win in this inaugural season will come against Kazma, who are currently on the rise. | - |
13 Al Sadd |
Al Sadd could have already been celebrating a spot in the Final Phase, but instead they are going to have to sweat it out the hard way after losing to Al Nasr Riyadh last week. Their fate moving forward isn't completely in their hands anymore as aside from needing to win on Tuesday, they'll need Al Nasr to lose as well. | 🔻1️⃣ |
12 Al Manama |
It hasn't been a great stretch for Al Manama. Even since losing to Al Ahli in the local Bahrain league on March 10, they've also lost in WASL to Kuwait Club and then another local league loss to Al Najma on March 14. The result of the upcoming game against Al Sadd doesn't have any implications on their place in the standings... but it would be nice to snap that losing streak rather than extend it. | 🔻1️⃣ |
11 Al Nasr Riyadh |
Al Nasr Riyadh might only have one win, but it was a BIG one as it was against the team they were fighting for the final Final Phase spot and the margin was enough to give them a head-to-head advantage. Al Nasr can advance with a win in the upcoming game against Kuwait Club. That won't be an easy game, but Al Nasr can still advance if Al Sadd loses to Al Manama. | 🔺2️⃣ |
10 Al Naft |
Al Naft have the opportunity at another big win to close out the Group Phase as they are set to face Gorgan in the last game day. It would take a huge win for Al Naft to get themselves out of the 3rd place spot in the standings. | - |
9 Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai |
Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai's first loss of the season sets up the table for an epic clash vs Al Hilal this week. It was already going to be a good game between the top two teams in the group, but now it has a "winner goes directly to Semi-Finals" implication for the Final Phase. Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai looked a bit rusty in the previous game, however. Can they shake it off in time before facing Al Hilal? | - |
8 Orthodox Amman |
You can't really hold much against Orthodox Amman for losing to a very good Beirut Club team and we're not going to do that. Orthodox Amman have been scorching hot in the local league and they'll get their hands on a chance at a critical win when they go up against ZobAhan later in the week. | - |
7 Kazma |
Kazma should still be in-form, fresh with their new additions heading into the game against Al Bashaer. Will it be enough to get them ready for the upcoming matchup in the Final Phase, likely to be against Al Manama? | 🔻1️⃣ |
6 ZobAhan |
It's a steep drop for ZobAhan, who have now lost 5 straight games in the local Iran league. This includes their latest loss to Gorgan - their second defeat to the WASL West Asia rivals in the span of a few weeks. Pressure is piling up on ZobAhan, esepcially as they are set to face Orthodox Amman to close out the Group Phase. | 🔻4️⃣ |
5 Al Riyadi |
Al Riyadi should remain in the Top 5 of the Power Rankings all the way to the end of the last gameday of the Group Phase. They're just waiting to see now where they land in the final standings in Group B. | - |
4 Al Hilal |
Al Hilal have been spectacular all season in WASL Gulf. One slight smidge of dirt in their record is a loss to Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai... and they can exact that revenge in the last gameday here. Other than being a "potential rivalry" matchup, the two teams will also be playing for a direct spot in the Semi-Finals of the Final Phase which is reserved for the top team in each group. | - |
3 Beirut Club |
It was a steady few weeks for Beirut Club, but once they got back into WASL action, they made sure to bounce back hard. The Lebanese club were able to take care of Orthodox Amman, which is not as easy as the records suggest. Nonethless, they have locked up that direct spot in the Semi-Finals and will be waiting to see who they will face. | 🔺4️⃣ |
2 Kuwait Club |
Kuwait Club continue to take care of business and even a partially revamped Al Manama side could not slow them down. They seem to be even more formidable as the season has progressed with the margin of victories growing larger and larger. Can they end the Group Phase as the only undefeated team in WASL? | 🔺1️⃣ |
1 Gorgan |
While Gorgan have been away from WASL action for a long while, they have been putting in the work. Most notably, they've been able to handle WASL West Asia rivals and potential Semi-Finals foes, ZobAhan, twice in the span of just a few weeks. | - |
*The power rankings are entirely subjective based on recent events/results/announcements and is in no way true, accurate ranking systems. All comments are purely those of the author.
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