BASKETBALL – Bahrain's top basketball clubs Manama and Al Ahli are both in action away this week in their penultimate games of the preliminary round in the Gulf sub-zone of the 2024-25 Fiba West Asia Super League (WASL).
Ahli are first on the hardwood when they go against Shabab Al Ahli in Dubai this evening, while Manama will take on Al Arabi of Qatar in Doha tomorrow.
Both games are crucial for the Bahraini sides as they aim to stay in contention for a place in the WASL Gulf semi-finals.
Ahli head into tonight’s clash having lost three of their four games to date. They bowed to Kuwait SC of Kuwait twice, and after this evening’s fixture against the Emiratis, will go up against Al Bashaer of Oman in their concluding fixture on Monday next week, to be played at home.
Kuwait currently top the Group A table with an unbeaten record in four games, followed by Shabab Al Ahli with a 3-1 mark. Bashaer are in last place, having lost all four of their outings.
This evening’s contest is scheduled for a 6pm tip-off, Bahrain time, at Dubai’s Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.
Meanwhile, in supremely tight Group B, Manama are on a two-game win-streak and will be looking to maintain their fine form tomorrow in the Qatari capital.
Manama lost their previous meeting against Arabi by a single point and will be hoping to bounce back tonight. Their other loss came against Al Qadsia of Kuwait, whom they then beat in their return game, while their other triumph was against Ittihad Club of Saudi Arabia.
All four squads in this pool are tied with 2-2 win-loss records.
Tomorrow’s fixture is scheduled for an 8pm start, Bahrain time. It will be played at the Al Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall.
The top seeds in each group at the end of this double round-robin stage earn outright berths to the best-of-three Gulf semi-finals. The second and third-ranked teams will have to go through a cross-over play-off round for the two other berths in the last four, which will also be held in best-of-three format.
The top three teams from both the Gulf and the WASL’s West Asia sub-zones will qualify for the WASL Final Eight, where they will be joined by the champions of South and Central Asia.
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