DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Shabab Al Ahli completed their season sweep of Al Ahli Club following a 91-88 escape to chalk up win no. 4 in the 2024/2025 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL), Monday at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.
The perennial contenders bucked a slow start before seizing control of the game in the third quarter, but still needed to fend off a late-game comeback attempt by the visitors from Bahrain to reign triumphant anew in their second meeting.
It could be recalled that the champions from UAE hacked out a 76-73 decision in their previous encounter last November in Manama, and the match became as tight again come the closing seconds - although the result remained the same.
And this one proved more important for Shabab Al Ahli as it hiked their record to 4-1 to stay still at no. 2 in Group A of the Gulf League behind the 5-0 Kuwait Club, which they'd actually face next week for what could be a dispute for the top seed.
Al Ahli, on the other hand, fell to 1-4 following the narrow defeat, making their chances of reaching the Sub-Zone League Final Phase slimmer.
Game heroes: Versatile winger Deshawndre Washington and young star Hamed Lateef formed a solid 1-2 combination in bannering the home team's offense.
Washington top-scored for Shabab Al Ahli with 32 points and 9 rebounds, and laced as much with 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block to net an efficiency (EFF) of 34.
Lateef, on the other hand, produced a season-high 25 points on an efficient 56.2-percent shooting from the floor plus 4 rebounds and a pair of steals without a turnover on his way to bagging home STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors.
Also contributing solidly was Sir'Dom Pointer, who finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks for a 31 EFF all in all.
Big man Qais Omar Alshabebi made his presence felt by flirting with a double-double, tallying 12 points and 9 rebounds as the usual providers did their part in making sure that they'd give new head coach Miodrag Perisic a winning WASL debut.
Turning point: Saeed Alajmani finished with only 3 points following one make from beyond the arc but that proved to be the most important basket of the night.
The seasoned playmaker, without hesitation, let it fly from and sank the three-ball with 13.4 seconds left to play, effectively repelling a rally that saw their foes fight back from an 84-72 deficit and close within just two, 88-86, with 35 ticks remaining.
Jordan Stevens still tried to will Al Ahli for one last time with a layup of his own with 4.7 seconds to go but time clearly wasn't enough to complete their plan.
Stats don't lie: Shabab Al Ahli actually didn't shoot better than the opposition and lost other statistical departments, but they dominated the boards, 47-32.
They said: "I think this team can do much more, and can do much better. But we really need time to practice, to introduce ourselves much better, to understand what we want. So along the way, I hope we'll be better." - Miodrag Perisic, Head Coach, Shabab Al Ahli
"We're gonna continue practicing hard, we're gonna continue following the coaches' game plan, and we're gonna show up every day at work. And I think with that attitude, we'll be able to sustain and get to where we need to go, which is the next round." - Elijah Thomas, Center, Al Ahli Club
FIBA