02/01/2023
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WASL Power Rankings: Season 1, Volume II
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The inaugural season of WASL continues and all of the teams are putting in their best efforts to finish as the best of the best in their respective leagues.
There's been plenty of excitement. There's been plenty of emotions. Big players. Great players. Great games all around. We will continue to stack them up against each other in these WASL Power Rankings.
Reminder: These are not the official rankings. Power Rankings are just here to reflect on a team's current form and not based entirely on their records in WASL.
Team |
Movement |
|
16
|
Al-Ittihad Ahli are still trying to get into their rhythm and getting some additional firepower in Chris Darrington helped them out a bit... but it's still not enough to be convinced that they are headed in a positive direction just yet. ZobAhan were a difficult team to play against and it doesn't seem to get any easier as they face undefeated Beirut Club this weeb. | - |
15
|
We get it. Al Hilal are really good. Still, Al Bashaer's loss to Al Hilal was the only double-digit deficit in WASL Gulf so far and was a whopping 22-point defeat. | 🔻2️⃣ |
14
|
Alkaramah are still undefeated, but they look closer to getting a victory after a spirited game against Gorgan in Tehran. With Musa Abdul Aleem getting more and more time with the team, expect Alkaramah to get one in the W column soon. (Note: their next game is against Al Riyadi who just suffered their first loss of the season.) |
🔺1️⃣ |
13
|
Orthodox Amman getting knocked all the way down here is not only about losing to Beirut Club (who are always tough to beat) but more about how they were beaten. They are still struggling on offense and it's just not clicking right now. Ashraf Alhendi has been lighting up the Jordan Premier League with 24.5 points per game, so maybe he needs to be more active in their upcoming games. | 🔻7️⃣ |
12
|
It must be intense times for AL Nasr Riyadh fans as it's been a string of close games for the team both in WASL Gulf and the SBL. Unfortunately for Al Nasr, they've only been able to come out victorious in the local SBL with two straight painfully close games in WASL. Guess they'll only be able to celebrate Christiano Ronaldo's signing for now. | 🔻1️⃣ |
11
|
Like Al Nassr Riyadh above, Kazma are in the situation that if a couple of possessions on the past two games went their way, they could be undefeated. Alas, they are instead winless. Kazma have a solid rotation of players, so it shouldn't be too long before they get their first win. | 🔻1️⃣ |
10
|
It must feel good to rebound from a tough loss by getting a hard-earned win. Al Sadd still have to be aware that they are running on a very short rotation, so they'll need to quickly overpower opponents in their games... but no one is going to complain about this recent win. | 🔺1️⃣ |
9
|
Al Manama drops down a few spots this week, but they're still in pretty good shape. A three-point loss to Kuwait Club is not bad at all, but they just need the local Bahrain players to step up a bit more. | 🔻2️⃣ |
8
|
Great way to bounce back by ZobAhan. It was pretty much expected as the quality of Iran clubs and players is undeniable, especially at home. Getting Sajjad Mashayekhi into the mix was also a big boost and fans got to see some great team basketball. | 🔺6️⃣ |
7
|
It hasn't been pretty, but Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai has shown their teeth, staying undefeated after two tough games. When Minnerath, Triche, and Alshabebi all clicking in their roles, they are not an easy team to go up against. | 🔺1️⃣ |
6
|
Losing to Al Naft in Baghdad shouldn't be too big of a deal, but even the most loyal Riyadi fans have to admit that their team looked different after an impressive opening win. They were without Ricky Ledo and it was Amir Saoud's first game, but it might have helped for them to be more aggressive on the offensive end. It's not the end of the world, but quite a drop-off from Week 1. | 🔻5️⃣ |
5
|
Gorgan didn't let a tough loss to Al Riyadi get to their heads and rebounded for an important one against a rising Alkaramah side. While this win came against a winless squad, we should see over the next games that Alkaramah are better than their current record suggest. Solid win by Gorgan. | 🔺4️⃣ |
4
|
Al Sadd coach Vasileios Bratsiakos said early in the season that Kuwait Club might have the best team in WASL Gulf. And he might be right. Kuwait Club are deep in talent and they feed well off each other, especially Jacob Pullen and Mustafa Matwali. They currently lead all WASL Gulf teams in scoring and assists... so it will be tough to stop them. | 🔺1️⃣ |
3
|
It was another day in the office for Al Hilal as they exerted their dominance over Al Bashaer and they've been on a tear in the SBL as well. When their stars align, Al Hilal can seem unstoppable. However, they have to be prepared for someone to step up if one (or more) of their key contributors get slowed down. | 🔺1️⃣ |
2
|
When they started the game down 10-2 to Orthodox Amman, some fans might have been alarmed. But it didn't seem to rattle Beirut Club. The Lebanese club has played some great basketball over their past two games, setting the standard as the team to beat in Group A. | 🔺1️⃣ |
1
|
Let's first get this out of the way: Edgar Sosa might be on fire (35.5 points per game) but it's been more than a one man show. Wiggins has shined. The team has played with great energy on the defensive end. They are currently high on confidence and there's no reason why they shouldn't be. | 🔺1️⃣ |
Al-Ittihad Ahli
Al Bashaer
Alkaramah
Orthodox Amman
Al Nasr Riyadh
Kazma
Al Sadd
Al Manama
ZobAhan
Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai
Al Riyadi
Gorgan
Kuwait Club 
Al Hilal
Beirut Club
Al Naft
*The power rankings are entirely subjective based on recent events/results/announcements and is in no way a true, accurate ranking systems. All comments are purely those of the author.
FIBA
