Chapman tally historic 20-20 game as Kazma dash Gulf Semis hopes of Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai

DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Kazma earned a sweet payback by dashing the Semi-Final aspirations of Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai through a 91-83 road win in the FIBA WASL-Gulf League Season 2, Tuesday night at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.

The Kuwaiti side turned it up in the second quarter behind Abdulaziz Alhamidi and Ahmad Albaloushi, and never let up since on their way to finally beating their Emirati counterparts after dropping a close 85-80 decision in their first encounter last December 5.

Not only did Kazma get their second win of the season but the result helped Manama greatly as it enabled the reigning FIBA WASL champions, which are unbeaten through five games, to clinch the top spot in Group B - and the direct flight to the sub-zone Semis.

It sure is a tough defeat to fathom for Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai, for a win would have kept them in the hunt for the outright Semis berth. Now toting a 3-2 record, they will have to beat Manama to strengthen their bid of finishing as the second seed in the group.

Game heroes: Travis Leslie finished with 23 points, alongside 7 rebounds and 4 assists to spearhead Kazma in the victory that saw the crew deploy a balanced attack,

But the night belonged to Clint Chapman, who made history for tallying the first-ever 20-20 outing in FIBA WASL as he finished with 21 points and 21 rebounds alongside 3 blocks - in the process earning STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors.

Alhamidi finished with 18 points, while Alhamidi came through with 15 points as Kazma continue their turnaround after starting out the season with two losses.

Stats don't lie: Chapman now owns the FIBA WASL single-game record for most rebounds with 21, surpassing the 20 previously set by Arsalan Kazemi with ZobAhan back in Season 1.

Turning point: Kazma trailed by a field goal late in the second quarter until Leslie and Albaloushi connived for a 9-3 run to take a 48-44 lead at the half. It was a 28-point showing for the crew, with Alhamidi helping out in the early goings to wipe out a 23-20 deficit.

They would remain ahead from that point on, but it wasn't until the fourth where the squad led by double digits. A Leslie-Albaloushi connection pushed their lead to its biggest at 14, 77-63.

They said: "It’s a tough question that you ask me, and I cannot give you a simple answer. It’s two months apart from our first meeting, they played at our home court a really good game, we were not in the best shape regarding everything. They deserve to win the first game. Now I think things, a little bit, changed from our side, I think we played a lot smarter defensively and offensively. This is something we talked about the last couple of weeks, and the team responded well. I’m really happy for the guys, I can only congratulate them for the big win." - Bojan Lazic, Head Coach, Kazma

"This is the best place to be at this time of the year. We want to improve little by little as we go. It’s better to start off at a lower level and then work your way up. I think that’s what we’re doing here, slowly making our impact as we get closer to the playoffs. It’s timing. You wanna peak at the right time, and there are still things we can improve on so we haven’t peaked yet, and I think that’s what’s important to keep our eyes on, little by little, game by game, improve. And I think this was a huge step for us." - Clint Chapman, Kazma

"Like I said after our first game, every game is do-or-die for us - whether it’s in WASL, or in our local league. But like what Coach just mentioned, there’s nothing we can do about our schedule. Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us. It’s just the reality of what it is. We already had two periods where we have a month in between games - we had one in December, and now we had another one. There’s just nothing you can replace to do that, to stay in rhythm and be ready like you’re playing one or twice a week. Like I said, nobody’s feeling sorry for us, there’s nothing we can do about the schedule. All we can look forward to is the next game." - Nick Minnerath, Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai

FIBA