FIBA WASL Season 2: Week 3 preview
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Four teams will look to keep their winning ways as the FIBA WASL Sub-Zone Leagues action continue in Week 3.
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Four teams will look to keep their winning ways as the Sub-Zone Leagues action continue in Week 3 of the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL).
Kuwait Club versus Al Rayyan
November 27
Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex, Kuwait City, Kuwait
20:00 local time (GMT+3)
Kuwait Club will commence the third week of Season 2 play by hosting Al Rayyan on Monday at the Sheikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex in Kuwait City.
Both squads aced their respective assignments in Week 1, with the reigning Gulf League champions successfully opening their title defense bid with a 108-92 road win over Muharraq.
There, Hamad Hasan erupted for 28 points on five triples, and so it would be interesting to see if the sweet-shooting forward could continue his solid play against their Qatari counterparts.
But the league newcomers are surely no pushovers, having showed character to top Devin Ebanks and Al-Ahli Jeddah on the road, 98-88, thanks to the leadership of Mouhammad Faye.
Winner will take the solo lead in Group A of the Gulf League.
Muharraq versus Al-Ahli Jeddah
November 28
BBA Arena, Manama, Bahrain
19:30 local time (GMT+3)
Tuesday night will see two teams hungry in chalking up win no. 1 as Muharraq take on Al-Ahli Jeddah in their home floor at the BBA Arena in Manama.
It would be another opportunity for the Bahraini ball club to give their home fans a reason to smile about after falling short against Kuwait Club the last time out.
As for the team from KSA, it would mark their first test on the road, with some curious on how they'd respond in front of what should be a raucous pro-Muharraq crowd.
Shahrdary Gorgan versus Al-Ittihad Ahli
November 29
Azadi Basketball Hall, Tehran, Iran
20:00 local time (GMT+3:30)
Over at FIBA WASL-West Asia, Group A leadership will be up for grabs as Shahrdary Gorgan take on the visiting Al-Ittihad Ahli on Wednesday at the Azadi Basketball Hall in Tehran.
The reigning three-time Iran champions beat newcomers Sagesse on the road last November 16, 86-74, wherein Arsalan Kazemi almost tied the league's single-game rebounding record with 18 boards, alongside 8 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block for an efficiency rating of 28.
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Al-Ittihad, on the other hand, became the first Syrian team to win in FIBA WASL after taking down Al Naft, 79-72, before 8,500 fans at the Al Hamadaniyeh Stadium in Aleppo last November 16.
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Though Wednesday night's match will feature Season 1 participants, it will be the first time that Gorgan and Al-Ittihad will face each other in FIBA WASL, and adding even more excitement to the affair is the fact that the winner will earn the provisional leadership of the group.
Al Naft versus Sagesse
November 30
Al Shaeb Hall, Baghdad, Iraq
18:45 local time (GMT+3)
While Gorgan and Al-ittihad will duke it out for the Group A leadership, the teams they defeated en route to winning starts to their campaigns are looking to break through.
Al Naft will be hosting Sagesse on Thursday night at the Al Shaeb Hall in Baghdad, with the Iraqi side surely motivated to not be on the other end of an upset by a FIBA WASL neophyte.
Veteran forward Antwaine Wiggins and the league's new steals record-holder Karrar Hamzah will once again be spearheading Al Naft's bid for their first win opposite Sagesse, who will be banking on Ahmad Ibrahim and Karim Ezzedine in the bout set at 18:45 local time.
FIBA