ALEPPO (Syria) - Al-Ittihad Ahli couldn't have chosen a more opportune time to turn in arguably their most convincing win yet since joining the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL).

Once again feeding off the electric home crowd, the Syrian side dealt Al Shorta a dose of their own medicine by dealing the beatdown this time, 91-80, to send their best-of-3 Qualification to Semi-Finals to the distance, Wednesday night at the Al Hamadaniyeh Stadium.

Game heroes: Jeremy Kendle led the way with a game-high 33 points and 10 assists as he helped orchestrate the home team's turnaround in the first half. The 35-year-old guard would deservingly earn STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors.

Avelon Luke John was key as well in bucking their slow start and wound up with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Jamil Saddir had his own double-double with 11 and 13.

Turning point: The crew had already taken the lead late in the first quarter, but it was really in the middle chapters where the rout began. Al-Ittihad Ahli were only leading by four late in the second period, until Kendle powered a 15-5 rally toward a 45-30 lead at the half.

The onslaught would continue in the following frame, with the lead swelling to as big as 28 points, 70-42, following Saddir's triple with 37 seconds left on the clock.

Al Shorta did try to pull off a comeback in the closing moments behind Terry Smith and Delwan Graham, but all that they could do was to make the gap respectable.

Stats don't lie: After losing narrowly (42-41) in the rebounding battle in Game 1, Al-Ittihad Ahli dominated the glass this time, 46-34. Thirty-five were defensive boards.

They said: "All credit goes to the players. In this game, we did a great job defensively. We were focused on our matchups, we were focused on transition defense, When defense works, offense works. But it’s finished now. We’re focused on the next game. I think we have 50-percent to got to the next round so we have to stay focused for the third game." - Safouane Ferjani, Head Coach, Al-Ittihad Ahli

"I think the mentality and just really digging in on the defensive end. And just, you know, trusting ourselves and playing with confidence offensively. But like Coach alluded to, when you play strong defense, a lot of times the offensive end is a bit easier. We got flowing early, and shots were going in and it was a bit contagious. Hopefully we’ll have the same brand of basketball for Game Three." - Jeremy Kendle, Al-ittihad Ahli

"They were the better team. They found a lot of spacing in our defense. They played smart. They were very efficient. They were better than us. The fighting spirit we showed in the fourth quarter was good. We beat them by 16, they beat us by 11, now we have a deciding game. I think it’s gonna be an interesting game. And I’m confident that Shorta will proceed." - Ghassan Sarkis, Head Coach, Al Shorta

"I already forgot about it. We gotta have amnesia. Not thinking about it. Next game is a whole new game. And we’re playing at home in Baghdad, so I feel very confident. We have a good chance to close it out at home." - Terry Smith, Al Shorta

FIBA