KUWAIT CITY (Kuwait) - It should be common knowledge by now that Kuwaiti clubs in FIBA WASL have written solid track records over the last two seasons.
But it's only in the ongoing 2024/2025 season where the country's representatives in the pan-regional league are sitting on top of their respective groups in the Gulf League.
It says a lot about basketball, and it's improving and getting much better here in Kuwait.
Al Qadsia SC on Wednesday night took down Ittihad Club 91-83 to take the solo lead in Group B with a 2-0 record, leveling themselves with Kuwait Club as the reigning two-time Sub-Zone League champions are no. 1 in Group A.
No strangers in going off to hot starts, Kuwait Club - who won 13 straight games in the Gulf League abridging the first two seasons - took pole position in their pool following wins over Al Ahli Club (88-77) and Al Bashaer (103-48).
Qadsia, on the other hand, scalped Manama in their debut through a 90-84 result in a major upset before the conquest of the Saudi Arabian side to lead their flock, indeed a surprise considering that they're one of the league's newcomers this season.
Yes, the 2023/2024 WASL season saw Kuwaiti teams reach the Gulf League Semi-Finals and eventually the Final 8 when Kuwait Club and Kazma did as much, but it has never happened that both representatives have led their own groups until now.
I think it's great for this region that you get to play these extra games against really good competition.
From the perspective of Qadsia head coach Joey Stiebing, it only speaks volumes about how much the caliber of basketball has been improving in Kuwait.
"I think it says a lot," he said shortly after beating Ittihad at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex. "Kuwait has one of the better leagues in the Gulf. They've upped their level of basketball, and there are some other good teams in the league."
"So, you know, it says a lot about basketball, and it's improving and getting much better here in Kuwait," added the esteemed mentor, who led his side to runner-up finishes in the 2023 Kuwait Super Cup and the 2024 Kuwait Basketball League.
Stiebing sure knows a thing or two about growth. He's a revered figure in this region, having spent a significant amount of time coaching here - and collected accolades in his stops, too, to write a resume that most coaches could only dream of.
For the uninitiated, the 63-year-old led Qatar to bronze-medal finishes in the 2003 and 2005 editions of the FIBA Asia Cup, with the latter the most memorable as it brought the country to its maiden FIBA Basketball World Cup appearance in 2006.
He would then wield his magic in Jordan several years later. The American bench tactician led the Falcons to just their second World Cup stint in 2019, where they went on to give the program its first-ever win in the tilt by beating Senegal, 79-77.
In between those national team gigs, Stiebing has also coached in the pros, including a stint with Al Sharjah in the UAE in 2014/2015 season where he brought with him the experiences reaped from various stops in the CBA and NBL in China.
Fast forward to now and he's back in the Gulf manning the helm of Qadsia, a partnership that began prior to the start of the 2023/2024 season.
He finds himself, too, coaching in a regional league like WASL, an opportunity which he finds beneficial most especially to all those involved - including Kuwait, of course.
That's because the veteran internationalist believes that exposure to the high-level competition that the meet offers would only aid into the development of players of use not only to the club context, but to the national team level as well.
"I think it's great. I think it's great for this region that you get to play these extra games against really good competition," offered Stiebing.
"And it's only gonna help improve your players, like what Aziz [Alhamidi] said, it will help your national team level, too," furthered the Louisiana-native, who's been coaching for nearly 40 years now in a career that began in the US collegiate ranks.
"Because, you're playing against high-level competition. And if you can do that on a consistent basis playing at this level," he added, "it's gonna filter down to everybody."
FIBA