DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - All of Shabab Al Ahli congratulated Hamed Lateef for showing maturity beyond his years to help the team draw first blood against Ittihad Club in the 2024/2025 FIBA WASL-Gulf League Final.
The 24-year-old knocked down the go-ahead trifecta from the corner with under a minute left, which turned the tides in their favor and enabled the reigning UAE champions take the 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 tiff.
Everybody beamed with pride with how their young star delivered but it wasn't all about that shot alone, but the guts he showed as it served as a microcosm of the fight they showed as a whole - despite the rough night.
"We gotta work on executing better, just listening and paying attention to detail," offered Deshawndre Washington moments after their pulsating 90-88 escape at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall,
"But our toughness and resilience to keep fighting through was great. Even Hamed, he didn't make shots early but he made a very big shot for us at the end of the game," the athletic forward added.
Yes, they did hack out the narrow victory but Shabab Al Ahli were far from pleased with the way they performed, which saw the squad figure in a nip-and-tuck affair with the Saudi Arabian side all game long.
While it appeared nicely optics-wise, the club from Dubai would've wanted much better from themselves, although head coach Miodrag Perisic felt that it was a case of his wards being too eager to get things done.
"I think that my team was. a little bit... I cannot say afraid because that's not the word, but, I mean, we wanted so much of this," offered the champion mentor. "I think we didn't give what we could give. This is my opinion."
Even Lateef himself struggled to get going, that he went to and fro the team's bench as Perisic wanted his prized combo guard to catch his rhythm - because he knows what they will get when he does.
"We were waiting for Hamed all game. He cannot find his rhythm. He's a young player. All game long I was bringing him out, and then bringing back. Because I was hoping that he could give us [something]," he said.
True enough, he gave his team so much by nailing that three for the haymaker.
"He's very important in our team. But like I said, he's a young player, he didn't bring himself the way he should be. But on the other hand, he showed his quality at the end with his shot. He helped us a lot," said Perisic.
As the final buzzer sounded, cheers and adoration rained down on Lateef, who finished with 14 points - albeit on 13 shots - alongside 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in the 22 minutes he saw action.
"Everybody congratulated him, celebrated him for it because that's the kind of player he is," said Washington, who had 29 and 10. "We're just very proud of him for being that tough, and sticking to it through the whole game."
Their celebration at center court showed everyone in Shabab Al Ahli with smiles on their faces, making Perisic optimistic for Game 2 on Tuesday at the Green Basketball Court in Jeddah where they'll try to finish the job.
All because he's grown confident that his wards have gotten rid of the jitters.
"All the games will be very tough. Believe me. All the games will be tough," said the Serbian bench tactician. "I think today, there was much bigger pressure on our side because we must win the game - we put it like this.
"And I hope now that we will play... not more relaxed, I mean, but even if we lose, we have one more game," added Perisic as Game 3 - if necessary - will be in Dubai. "But of course, we will try to do everything to finish there."
FIBA