WASL Weekly Heat Index: Stars came out to play in Group Phase's last stretch

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - It was the final stretch of the West Asia Super League's group stage and these players made sure to close it out with a bang.

And they did so by turning in performances so notable that they, without a shadow of a doubt, deserve another -- or a deeper -- look in our WASL Weekly Heat Index.

Behnam Yakhchali

Gorgan

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Gorgan booked the last direct flight to the WASL-West Asia Semi-Finals big thanks to star guard Behnam Yakhchali delivering time and again.

The veteran internationalist torched Al Naft, firing 6 triples -- tied for second-most in their region -- for 29 points, alongside 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and a steal for a game-high 32 efficiency rating in 40 minutes in their 101-91 win.

 

Yakhchali will be entering the Final Phase as one of the league's best scorers with an average of 21.3 points on 40-percent shooting from deep.

Darrin Dorsey

Orthodox Amman

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Darrin Dorsey made sure that Orthodox Amman would go into the Final Phase on a high as he powered his side past ZobAhan, 86-82.

The 35-year-old finished with a West Asia fourth-best 33 points, including 18 on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting just in the opening period alone in easily one of the most spectacular single-quarter performances the entire league has seen.

 

But he showed in that very same game, too, that he could be as reliable when the going gets tough, nailing the dagger trey with 1:04 left to play to deny ZobAhan's comeback from as much as 22 points down.

Dorsey finished with 12-of-17 shooting from the floor that included a 4-of-8 clip from beyond the arc, together with 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal on the way to garnering a whopping efficiency rating of 35 in 39 minutes.

Omran Jawhar

Kuwait Club

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Some big nights are bound to happen and Omran Jawhar was a solid example of that. After tallying 11 points versus Al Manama, he quickly reset his WASL career-high in scoring just a week later against Al Nasr Riyadh.

The 23-year-old center supplied 21 points on 9-of-11 FG shooting, on top of 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks for a 27 efficiency rating in their mighty 106-78 victory as Kuwait Club finished the Group Phase at 6-0.

First to reach the semis, the unscathed crew may have just found another key contributor in their quest of sweeping their way towards the crown.

Mohammed Alsuwailem

Al Hilal

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Mohammed Alsuwailem has definitely been a prime example of consistency and his showing against Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai was another proof of that.

Up against more seasoned bigs like Omar Alshabebi and Nick Minnerath, the towering 24-year-old imposed his presence and wound up with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 13 rebounds to help in Al Hilal's 81-72 victory.

Alsuwailem has tallied a double-double in all the six games they played this season. He's now averaging 16.2 markers and 14.7 boards.

And, oh, he also tallied a Gulf second-most 5 blocks, with a pair of assists for an efficiency rating of 28 in the triumph that enabled the club from KSA to book the remaining direct-flight ticket to the Gulf semis.

Lamont Jones

Al Manama

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Al Manama basically completed the WASL-Gulf playoff picture by beating Al Sadd, 98-86, in the process providing Al Nasr the free ride to the next round.

The Saudi Arabian side needed their Qatari foes to lose to Al Manama which happened, and one of those they should thank for is Lamont Jones.

One of the team's new faces, Jones led the way with 25 points on a 45-percent clip from the floor, 9 assists, a pair of rebounds, and a steal (25 EFF) as the Bahraini side finished as the No. 2 seed of Group B.

FIBA