Road To FIBA WASL Final 8 2023 Dubai: Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 is upon us, and it's definitely high time for us to know the qualified teams better.

For some teams, it will be a refresher course after their exciting path to this stage through the sub-zone leagues. Here, we offer you the Road To Dubai series, where we take a look at each of the eight teams set to see action in the much-awaited 9-17 June competition taking place at the City of Gold.

We start off with Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai, whose homecourt Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall will serve as the inaugural conclave's battleground.

HISTORY

The club was formed after Al Shabab, Al Ahli, and Dubai CSC merged in 2017 - easily one of the biggest developments in all of UAE sports.

PAST SUCCESS

Shabab Al Ahli are the most decorated team in the UAE National Basketball League, having won eight of the nine championships thus far - including, of course, the 2022 edition that brought them to FIBA WASL.

Shabab Al Ahli have also competed in the prestigious FIBA Asia Champions Cup in 2016 and 2017, which were both held in China. In the 2016 edition of the competition, Shabab Al Ahli made it all the way to the Semi-Finals.

HOW DID THEY GET HERE?

The team of Coach Zoran Zupcevic grabbed the remaining Final 8 ticket via WASL - Gulf by beating Al Hilal, 88-76, in the Third-Place Game.

 

It was sweet revenge for the entire crew as they got back at the same team who foiled their plans of securing the no. 1 seed in Group A, which merited a direct flight to the Semi-Finals - that also meant a bit more rest time.

They lost by way of an 81-72 decision for that top seed spot but still managed to make it to the Semis by defeating Al Nasr Riyadh in the best-of-3 Qualification to Semi-Finals.

Shabab Al Ahli, of course, wanted to make it all the way to the Final, but were swept by eventual FIBA WASL - Gulf champions Kuwait Club in the best-of-3 Semi-Finals series.

That placed them in the Third-Place Game and they made sure not to suffer another heartbreak, taking down their counterparts from Saudi Arabia at home to keep their FIBA WASL championship hopes very much alive.

Earning that shot alone should be a solid feat already for a team that had to battle adversities, particularly injuries to key cogs, during the course of the tournament, which they opened with four consecutive victories.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

All season long, Nick Minnerath was a picture of consistency, so much so that he ended FIBA WASL - Gulf play as the leading scorer with 25.8 points.

Surely, he'll bring his high-scoring ways to the Final 8, although it won't just be the veteran forward alone who will spearhead Shabab Al Ahli's title quest.

There's still team vet Brandon Triche, as well as steady playmaker Saeed Alajmani and Hamed Lateef, who became a revelation later in the season as he set his two best games in WASL thus far during the Final Phase.

 

There's a big possibility that star big man Qais Omar Alshabebi will be back in action after sitting out due to an injury for a period.

The UAE national team standout was averaging 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game before going down, and his possible return should serve as great news for his team - and undeniably bad news for their opponents.

FIBA