Schomers on 'rare' Kuwait Club slide: 'We just don't have it together right now

DOHA (Qatar) - Whatever their position could be for the Gulf League Final Phase in the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Season 2 hardly matters for Kuwait Club.

All that head coach Peter Schomers is concerned about is how he and his wards could regain their old form, now that they find themselves in an unfamiliar situation.

"I think we just don't have it together right now," lamented the German bench tactician. "I mean this in the truest sense of its meaning ... we have to play better basketball."

The straightforward mentor offered as much on Monday night, shortly after the reigning sub-zone league champions absorbed a 94-90 loss to a younger Al Rayyan in Doha.

It was their second loss in a row after bowing to Muharraq the last time out, which snapped their perfect 13-game Gulf winning streak that dates back to the inaugurals.

Schomers understands that losing is all part of the game, but even he cannot seem to fathom that it is now the reality that the once-unbeaten ball club is presently living in.

"It's rare," the former player turned coach reflected. "It's rare. But, it's basketball. We played against two teams that can shoot the ball very well from the three-point line."

The three-point shot did spell doom for Kuwait Club, particularly in their latest defeat. Al Rayyan drilled a total of 15 shots from beyond the arc, nine of which came from the tandem of Andrew White III and Nick Griffin, who finished with 24 and 21 points, respectively.

Griffin himself caused problems in the second quarter, where he nailed four of his five triples in consecutive fashion to spark the breakaway that saw them lead by as much as 21.

Kuwait Club, given their pedigree, managed to come back and get to within just four points, but White was there to arrest their rally by banking in a triple, 91-84, with 33 seconds left.

"If you look at the stats, both of their foreigners shot 5-of-9 (Griffin) and 4-of-7 (White III) [from three]. In the first half, we dug ourselves a big hole. It's tough to come back from 20. We always do that, but it costs a lot of energy. In the end, it wasn't enough," said Schomers.

He's never one to make excuses but Schomers couldn't help but bemoan the way things have been lately with his team, which explains the losing slide they're presently in.

"The preparation was bad. We had practices [where we do] not [have] even 10 guys; numerous practices we had guys sick, [and then] coming back. We're just not together," he said.

"For a team that wants to be in first place and a team that has a big challenge every time we get on the court, these teams, they overperform. We know that. If you're not up for it, you lose the game. It's as simple as it is. That's how it should be," he added.

Now, it's all about going back to the drawing board for Schomers and the rest of his chargers as they look to regroup and pick themselves up, and the rest will follow.

"We're really not worried about where we finish - we shouldn't be where we finish - we should worry a lot more about how we play basketball. Because if we continue playing like this, we're not gonna get anywhere," the decorated shot-caller stated.

"Our focus is to get it back together as a team to where we can be, and then we'll be fine. It doesn't matter where we play ... we already lost homecourt advantage losing the last game probably, so it's out the window. We might just have to play one more round but it's OK."

FIBA