JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Keron DeShields once said that he had wanted to play in FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) after seeing his good pals compete in the pan-regional meet, thus his joy to have realized as much when he joined Ittihad Club.
Fast forward to the present and the seasoned combo guard found himself becoming part of something bigger than himself and the ball club that he represents.
This right here was for Jeddah, and for Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabian side on Tuesday night achieved what no other team had done by ousting Kuwait Club from their two-year kingship of the Gulf League following a 64-63 Game 2 win, completing the sweep of their Qualification to Semi-Finals series.
"I feel amazing! Look at these fans, man," he said shortly after the final buzzer sounded, in awe of the home crowd that packed the Green Basketball Court.
"I feel amazing for the city. I feel amazing for Saudi Arabia, for my teammates, for my coaches, for the management," he continued. "This is bigger than me, or bigger than my teammates. This right here was for Jeddah, and for Saudi Arabia."
DeShields himself was crucial in the triumph, finishing with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists as he did a little bit of everything in the endgame to succeed.
He delivered all-important free throws to keep themselves in the thick of the fight but easily his most important contribution of the night was dishing the rock to Mathna Almarwani for the go-ahead bucket that put them up for good.
The veteran guard is no stranger to coming through in the clutch - he did just that to help essay Saudi's 66-58 comeback win over Iraq back in the previous FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers window - but Tuesday's shot should be up there among his best.
"Mathna's great going right, so as soon as I gave it to him I knew he was gonna go right. I didn't know what the results were gonna be, but God was in our favor," DeShields recalled. "And, our veteran took us home. That's it. And I'm proud of it."
Then again, the win isn't about a select few nor the club itself, but for a city that's given so much love to the American playmaker and the rest of the squad.
I think if we can keep on going with that it will make Saudi Arabia not just a football country but a basketball country.
And also, of course, for a kingdom that will soon become the Mecca of basketball in the continent when it graciously hosts the prestigious Asia Cup this summer.
That's why DeShields hopes that this kind of success he and Ittihad have achieved would help spark the growth of hoops in a football-crazy nation.
"The fan base out there was amazing," he said. "I think if we can keep on going with that it will make Saudi Arabia not just a football country but a basketball country."
Even Ittihad head coach Slobodan Subotic, himself a revered figure in this region, is hoping the same for Saudi, who in recent years have invested greatly in sports.
"Basketball is not first in this country but it's football. But I hope that this game and this kind of games will bring more kids to basketball and push other clubs to invest and bring good players and win championships," said the 68-year-old mentor.
"And also, to compete outside the country. Because Ittihad has shown this year that this is one dream that can come true if you work hard and get players with great character," the former chief bench tactician of Lebanon added.
But as proud as they are of what they accomplished, Subotic vowed that Ittihad won't rest on their laurels, with their sights set on achieving more as they gear up for what should be an exciting series ahead versus Al Qadsia in the best-of-3 Semi-Finals.
"It's a great night for the Ittihad Club. I'm sure that nobody believed at the beginning of the year that we would go so far. But I'd like to believe - and I think that I have the right - that my players are still hungry," the champion bench tactician said.
"I don't want to think that we did something great and stop here," he added. "I don't want to promise anything but beating a champion twice is a great result for the club."
FIBA