BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Iraqi ball clubs have quite the track record in FIBA WASL-West Asia League.
After Al Naft reached the Qualification to Semi-Finals back in the 2022/2023 inaugurals, Al Shorta upped the ante the following season and went as far as the Semi-Finals of the Sub-Zone League.
But no team from the country has gotten as far as the Finals, let alone the Final 8.
With the 2024/2025 West Asia League coming soon, will Al Difaa Al Jawii be the first to do so?
History
Founded in 1994, the team was primarily known in football but their basketball arm brought success first when they won the 1998 Iraqi Basketball League title - the first of what would be a back-to-back feat.
Al Difaa Al Jawii have won three league crowns thus far, the most recent of which was in 2024 after sweeping Al Karkha in the best-of-7 series to mark a new reign after Al Naft lorded over the previous six seasons.
It was the club's first championship since its re-establishment in 2021 after being out of the local sports scene for nearly two decades, which began when its football team exited the Iraqi Premier League back in 2005.
That four-game romp over actually the last team to strike gold in the Iraqi hoops league back in 2016 - before Al Naft's dynastic reign - would be their ticket to the 2024/2025 WASL-West Asia competitions.
Presently, they're leading Ghaz Al Shamal, 2-0 in the Quarter-Finals as Al Difaa Al Jawii definitely want to accomplish another back-to-back just like what the club did in the late 1990s.
Emblem
To check Al Difaa Al Jawi's upcoming FIBA WASL games, click here.
FIBA