FIBA WASL pioneer Ater Majok cherishes comeback to Sagesse

ALEPPO (Syria) - Another FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) pioneer made his way back into the pan-regional competition after Ater Majok signed with Sagesse earlier this December.

The decorated big man manned the frontline of Al Riyadi early in the West Asia League inaugurals before returning to the Basketball Africa League to play for Petro de Luanda.

Majok is glad to be playing in the league once again, but doing this encore of sorts while representing a ball club that has become so special to him serves as the cherry on top.

The 36-year-old is actually in the midst of a comeback stint with Sagesse, which he played for in the 2017-18 season of the Lebanese Basketball Championship. It was also his first season as a pro after being granted Lebanese citizenship that made him eligible for FIBA competitions.

"Of course, I'm happy to be back with Sagesse and happy to be back playing in WASL," expressed Majok, who began his career in Lebanon with Homenetmen in 2016.

"It's about coming back to Sagesse and, you know, representing the Green Castle," he added. "It doesn't matter what league it is. It's just about me coming back to Sagesse."

Majok has already played twice in FIBA WASL and both have resulted to wins, with the most recent of which an 81-72 decision against Al-Ittihad Ahli on the road on Thursday night.

He's seemingly the team's lucky charm but the Sudan-born pro refuses to take any of the credit, saying that their success thus far is simply a by-product of their effort as a unit.

"The back-to-back games was just the team playing great basketball, improving day by day, game by game. It has nothing to do with me joining the team," he said during the postgame press conference at the Al Hamadaniyeh Stadium, which got filled with a record 13,000-plus fans Thursday.

Majok is proud with the way Sagesse have been progressing thus far since absorbing an 86-74 home defeat at the hands Shahrdary Gorgan in the West Asia League opener last November 15.

"The first game was tough but now, for us it's just about improving and getting better every day, so we are in top form by the time we get to the playoffs," said the many-time champion.

FIBA