FIBA WASL Season 2: Road to sub-zone Semi-Finals begins

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Eight teams will begin treading the road en route to the FIBA WASL Season 2 Sub-Zone League Semi-Finals on Monday night.

Muharraq versus Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai

March 4
BBA Arena, Manama, Bahrain
20:00 local time (GMT+3)

The Qualification to Semi-Finals tips off with Gulf League action between Muharraq and Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai at the former's own stomping grounds at the BBA Arena in Bahrain.

It would be a clash between two teams hungry for a win, as both ended the Group Phase with back-to-back losses. Still, they were good enough to earn a slot in the semis qualifiers, with Muharraq finishing second in Group A and Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai placing third in Group B.

Of the two, it is the Emirati ball club that's coming in with the edge. It could be recalled that the crew overcame Al Nasr Riyadh in the Qualification to Semi-Finals of the FIBA WASL inaugurals to forge a semis showdown with Kuwait Club, who eventually won the Gulf via sweep.

Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai surely want to go back to the semis, but Muharraq would be shooting for that very same target to make their maiden FIBA WASL campaign even more memorable.

Winner of this best-of-3 series will face reigning FIBA WASL champions Manama in the Semis.

Kazma versus Al Rayyan

March 5
Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex, Kuwait City, Kuwait
20:00 local time (GMT+3)

The other Gulf League Qualification to Semi-Finals bracket feature Kazma and Al Rayyan, whose series will start on Tuesday at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex.

Yes, Kazma will have the homecourt advantage, something that the club would really want to maximize to get closer to the semis - that, after missing out on doing so in Season 1 as they blew a 1-0 lead against Manama in their best-of-3 Qualification to Semis affair.

Kazma earned the homecourt for finishing as the no. 2 seed in Group B. So, they will be taking on the third-seeded team of Group A in the youth-laden Al Rayyan.

It should be an interesting matchup, with both teams coming into the sub-zone Final Phase with much momentum as they wrapped up their Group Phase runs with back-to-back wins.

Winner of this best-of-3 series will take on reigning Gulf champions Kuwait Club in the Semis.

Al Shorta versus Al-Ittihad Ahli

March 6
Al Shaeb Hall, Baghdad, Iraq
20:00 local time (GMT+3)

Play-off first-timers make up the West Asia League's Qualification to Semi-Finals, with Al Shorta and Al-Ittihad Ahli opening action in the sub-zone at the Al Shaeb Hall in Iraq.

Homecourt edge is with Al Shorta, the no. 2 seed in Group B, but much of the attention are drawn on their Syrian counterparts as they finally made it to the Final Phase after having to withdraw from the inaugural season due to matters beyond their control.

And although they will have to begin their bid of reaching the next round away from home, the Al Shaeb Hall is nothing new to Al-Ittihad Ahli. It was in that venue where they punched their ticket to the Qualification to Semis after beating another Iraqi team in Al Naft.

But of course, Al Shorta wouldn't want to suffer any upset in Baghdad, motivated to take Game 1 of the race-to-2 encounter and move just a win away from the Semis - where the unbeaten Shahrdary Gorgan are waiting for them - to write history in their maiden campaign.

Sagesse versus Al Wahda

March 7
Ghazir Club Stadium, Ghazir, Lebanon
17:45 local time (GMT+2)

Capping off Week 1 of the Qualification to Semi-Finals will be Game 1 of the other West Asia series between Sagesse and Al Wahda at the Ghazir Club Stadium in Lebanon.

The second-best team of Group A with a 4-2 card, Sagesse are coming into the series opener buoyed by a two-game winning streak, and they're surely planning to carry over that momentum to get closer to the goal of reaching the next round.

But that won't be walk in the park as Al Wahda, Group B's no. 3 seed, are extremely hungry for a victory, especially after closing out the preliminaries with three losses in a row.

Reigning West Asia League champions Al Riyadi will be the opponent of the series' victors, which, either way, should set up a battle between two of FIBA WASL's fan favorites.

FIBA