KUWAIT CITY (Kuwait) - Kuwait Club chalked up their second win as many games in the 2024/2025 FIBA WASL-Gulf League after keeping Al Bashaer skidding, 103-48, at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex on Monday night.
The defending, two-time Sub-Zone League champions bucked a sluggish start before breaking the match wide open in the second chapter, never to let up as they went on to grab the provisional lead in Group A with a clean 2-0 card.
Game heroes: Briante Weber led the way with all-around numbers of 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals for an efficiency of 34.
JaKarr Sampson finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds, while Augustine Rubit fired 20 points - spiked by a pair of triples - and 13 rebounds for 32 EFF as the trio were mainly responsible in turning the game around from a double-digit deficit.
Hamad Hasan made sure to chip in as well with 10 points in the win that saw the crew shoot 50.7-percent from the floor, highlighted by 10 makes from deep.
Turning point: Al Bashaer gave out a tough challenge with a hot 13-2 start into the match but the home team countered with a run of their own to take the 25-21 lead at the end of the first quarter - thanks to the brain thrust's decision to switch pieces.
Head Coach Peter Schomers kept Weber on the floor and brought in Hasan, Omran Jawar, Masaed Aloutaibi, and Rubit in a platoon substitution, and that five inside got the team into the game and gained control of it just before the period wrapped up.
Things would then go from bad to worse for the visitors. Struggling to regain the rhythm they had, Kuwait Club capitalized, leaning on their three reinforcements for a 17-0 assault toward a 42-21 advantage with less than five minutes left in the second.
Stats don't lie: The home team's 55-point victory equalled the biggest margin of victory in WASL-Gulf posted by Al Hilal when the Saudi Arabian team beat Al Bashaer with the same scoreline - a wild coincidence, indeed - back in March 6, 2023.
They said: "It's a good thing. We have a very deep team. I subbed in four, left Briante in there and subbed the other guys out. Not saying the other guys were... you know, we just had a slow start. JaKarr obviously came back strong, too. But that's the strength of our team. We have a lot of players. We have a lot of quality on the bench. And that's how it's gonna be in every game. If you don't perform up to what you can do best, then there's always somebody waiting to take your place in this team. That's how it should be on a championship team." - Peter Schomers, Head Coach, Kuwait Club
"I have just been with the team for five days, so it's a short time for preparation. But I'm satisfied because my players, especially in the first half, put in a good effort. They challenged them. Before the game, I told them that this game is like a gift to us, so let's play against the best. They surprised me positively with how they played in the first half. In the second half I saw maybe another phase ... I don't know why my team played softly. But this is what we'll talk about." - Dragan Vascanin, Head Coach, Al Bashaer
FIBA