ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Ramon Galloway and Ihab Al-Zuhairi conspired in the clutch to lead Al Difaa Al Jawi SC to an 89-85 upset of Sagesse SC in a strong finish to their FIBA WASL-West Asia campaign, Sunday evening.
The veteran guard broke the 85-all knot with a layup off a steal with 32.1 seconds left, before their lead big man came through on both ends to seal the deal that stunned the home crowd at the Stade Nouhad Naufal.
Al-Zuhairi hauled down the missed trey of Aziz Abdel Massih with 15.7 ticks to spare, and then made both of his free throws for the eventual final count to save themselves after losing a 79-71 lead early in the fourth.
The reigning Iraq Basketball League champions will end their maiden WASL run at fourth place with a 2-6 record following their grind-out victory against the Final 8-bound Green Castle, who will finish with a 3-5 card.
"This was a historic game," proudly said head coach Nidhal Salman. "We won against a big team that has won international titles. The team worked hard, and they deserved to get this second win."
Jordan Hamilton top-scored for Al Difaa Al Jawi with 23 points and 16 rebounds, alongside 3 assists for an efficiency of 32. Al-Zuhairi, on the other hand, finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Ali Ismael produced 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Galloway delivered 15 points and 8 assists, while Thulfiqar Hammoodi supplied 12 points - spiked by a pair of three-pointers - and 7 rebounds.
Hammoodi himself was important in the final minutes as well, as he was responsible in tying the game up at 83-all by way of a floater with 2:12 remaining before the aforementioned tandem took it from there.
"Sagesse is a big team. They are a big team with a big fanbase. And so, we wanted to show again that Iraq has good teams and hopefully next WASL, we will head to the Final 8," offered Ismael.
Shabazz Muhammad, meanwhile, tallied 26 points and 8 rebounds to lead Sagesse in the comeback that fell just short. Abdel Massih backed him up with 15 points, all of which he got from deep with a 5-of-9 clip.
It was Abdel Massih that powered the rally, knocking down three consecutive triples to power a 12-2 scoring spree that turned the said eight-point deficit to an 83-81 advantage with 2:49 on the clock.
But Al Difaa Al Jawi proved to be a tough nut to crack by responding right away and even taking an 85-83 lead, although Zach Lofton refused to quit as he tied the game up approaching the game's final minute.
That, however, proved to be their final stand. They fell to the visitors' defense and committed a shot clock violation, and another turnover led to Galloway's breakaway layup that spelled doom for the Lebanese side.
Ater Majok had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Lofton made 13 points while Marc Khoueiry chipped in 11 for Sagesse, who finished the tilt with back-to-back losses - the first a 75-73 defeat to Tabiat some 24 hours ago.
But none of that matters anymore for the squad as, again, they're headed for the Final 8.
"Our goal was to go to the next round. We're there. We're happy for that. We knew that. And so, we used this game, as we said, to prepare ourselves and to protect some players," head coach Ilias Zouros said.
FIBA