JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Mathna Almarwani came through with arguably the biggest shot of his career as Ittihad Club dethroned Kuwait Club from their reign as FIBA WASL-Gulf League titlists by way of a pulsating 64-63 decision, Tuesday night.
The veteran guard made sure not to waste the pass of Keron DeShields, driving from the left corner before rising for the tough go-ahead layup with 2.1 seconds left that sent the sea of yellow and black inside the Green Basketball Court into a frenzy.
Coach Slobodan Subotic's wards then turned to their defense afterward, preventing JaKarr Sampson from having a good look at the rim as time expired.
Cheers and adoration would then fill the venue as they swept the defending two-time Sub-Zone League champions to punch their ticket to the Semi-Finals, where they will face another Kuwaiti side in Al Qadsia SC in a best-of-3 showdown.
"Tonight, my players didn't give up even if we were down by six or seven points. They showed character once again which I'm very happy about. And i think that it's a great night for the Ittihad Club," said Subotic during the postgame presser.
"I'm sure that nobody believed at the beginning of the year that we would go so far," he added. "But I'd like to believe - and I think that I have the right - that my players are still hungry. I don't want to think that we did something great and stop here."
DeShields led Ittihad with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists as the playmaker did what he could especially in the endgame - from nailing crucial buckets to willingly deferring to his teammates that eventually led to the game-winning play.
It was actually him who erased a 61-58 deficit, going perfect in both of his trips to the foul line inside the final 33.2 to put themselves ahead, 62-61, before dishing out the most important dime of the night to the Saudi national team stalwart.
"We're up 1-0 so at the end of the day, what do we have to lose? Nothing. Because they will just have to go back to Kuwait. So there was no pressure," he said.
"We'll play our game. Hats off to them, we know they're gonna play tough, so we just come over here and be who we are: Ittihad. We play with toughness, character, and togetherness. And that's our formula," added the 32-year-old DeShields.
Makur Maker made his presence felt as well in the win by punching in 16 points and 10 rebounds. Mohammed Almarwani tallied his own double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the grizzled center continued his fine play for Ittihad.
With the triumph, the club has become the second team from Saudi to reach the Gulf League Semi-Finals after Al Hilal did so in the 2022/2023 WASL inaugurals.
Kuwait Club, on the other hand, were led by JaKarr Sampson with 25 points and 13 rebounds in the loss that also spoiled the debut of new head coach Oliver Kostic.
The loss, furthermore, not only spoiled their bid of a 'three-peat' in the Gulf League but crushed their hopes as well of returning to the WASL Final 8 as only the top three teams of each Sub-Zone League can qualify for the culminating showpiece.
"I respect Coach Oliver for taking this job with five days to prepare," said Sampson as Kostic took over from Peter Schomers. "That's tough for a coach to do, to be in a position like that. We didn't get the result we wanted but believe we played hard."
"It was a competitive game but a short time to prepare. Kuwait is used to winning. We're used to winning. I'm used to winning as an individual. I'm upset about the outcome. But five days putting in new sets, I felt like we played hard," he added.
Hamad Hasan had 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists although he fouled out of the match, while Briante Weber added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Weber actually gave Kuwait the 63-62 lead after going 2-for-2 from the foul line with 13.7 seconds left to play, providing a glimmer of hope for the team.
But then, Mathna happened.
FIBA