BASKETBALL – Bahrain champions Manama begin their Gulf sub-zone semi-final tonight in the 2024-25 Fiba West Asia Super League (WASL).
Manama take on Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai in a best-of-three series for the chance to make a return trip to the Gulf finals.
Game one is scheduled for an 8.30pm tip-off this evening and it will be played at Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai, the UAE.
The Bahrainis head into the last four on a high note, having beaten fellow-Bahraini side and bitter rivals Al Ahli in a thrilling third game last week, sealing their best-of-three play-off.
Game two of their semi-final with Shabab Al Ahli is scheduled for Monday next week in the kingdom. It will be played at the Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Arena in Um Al Hassam, scheduled for a 10pm tip-off.
Game three, if needed, will be held on March 26 back in Dubai, also beginning at 8.30pm.
“I feel like we’re in control – this situation we’re in now, is we’ve been grinding,” Manama’s American professional Clint Chapman was quoted as saying following their decisive triumph against Ahli.
“We haven’t had any breaks. We played three games out of a three-game series, so I think we’re wired in right now. I think we’re locked in. I think we got a chance to get back in the gym and get to work. And I want to take this team as far as we can go.”
Chapman is upbeat about giving Manama’s loyal fan-base something to cheer for and repeating their title success in the first-ever Fiba WASL, held as part of the 2022-23 season.
“I know they’ve been frustrated with me a little bit earlier in the season from my inconsistency, and that’s fair,” he said. “I’m here to do a job and I appreciate the criticism.
“But, man, it’s so much fun when you can go out there and you can see the smiling faces and hear them call your name. That’s what this is all about.”
Manama arrived in the UAE yesterday ahead of tonight’s clash. Head coach Linos Gavriel is expected to be back on the sidelines for the Bahrainis, having completed a month-long suspension handed by Fiba for his actions in game one of their play-off against Ahli.
Prior to their departure for Dubai, Manama were visited during a local practice session by BBA president Alaa Mudara and a number of BBA officials.
The Gulf sub-zone’s other semi-final is between Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Al Qadsia of Kuwait. Their head-to-head is scheduled to get underway tomorrow, with games two and three scheduled for March 18 and 25, respectively. Qadsia have home-court advantage in the series. Shabab Al Ahli and Qadsia earned automatic berths in the Gulf semi-finals having topped their respective groups in the preliminary round.
The two semis winners will then square off for the WASL Gulf title, also to be held best-of-three, set for April. The losers in the semis will play for third place that same month.
The top three teams from WASL Gulf as well as the WASL West Asia sub-zone will qualify for the Fiba WASL Final Eight. They will be joined by the champions of South and Central Asia to determine this season’s overall WASL champions.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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